way of life
by florarune
Summary: with the heightened level of shadow activity in the tokyo area becoming concerning, the shadow operatives send in someone to keep an eye on it, and to infiltrate a high school with some worrisome threat levels. / sequel to memories of you / au
1. prisoner

the end has more notes on about this story!  
welcome!

* * *

Kotone's hands clutch at the straps of her messenger handbag, shaking slightly as she and her fiance, Sanada Akihiko, wander through the halls of a high school– despite the fact they were both a little over half a decade out of their schooling days. Calling them a little nervous for the events that were about to occur was definitely a bit of an understatement.

A lot of that anxiety might've come from how.. imposing the school looked. Compared to Gekkoukan High School, which was vibrant and open during the daytime, with trees scattering the large courtyard that supposedly hid a planetarium, Shujin Academy was.. cold, and **_dark_**. She had felt less like she was entering a school and more like she was going to prison. She thought it was a miracle that Akihiko had been so steel-faced, though she supposed it had come from his job.

Following behind them, with anxiety etched over her own pretty face, was the eldest of the two mechanical maidens, Labrys. Her long, silvery-blue hair flutters in the ponytail it was pulled up high in, the new uniform clinging to her mechanical joints strange to her. She was extremely grateful for the ability she had; even if it was technically a safety mechanism put in place by her creators. The ability to manipulate what people around her saw her as.

The people they passed in the halls would see her as a normal, albeit rather pretty, teenage girl. They wouldn't see the headpiece or the visor that was a part of her mechanical body, and they wouldn't see the way her lower arms were red joints hiding chains, and they certainly wouldn't see her legs of pure metal.

Her lips part slightly as words leave her lips. "I know you're excited to finally be allowed to go to a real high school, Labrys.. but remember, we're not here just for fun."

It's really weird for her, to be playing the part of a genuinely mature adult. She's still in her early twenties, but here she was acting as one of two legal guardians for a robotic girl pretending to be a teenager. Her naturally cheerful, and extraordinarily friendly, personality really didn't fit in with that idea. In fact, it felt extremely unnatural for her to be acting like this.. Even with the kids she worked with, she always tried to act in a way that made them know she wasn't trying to look down on them; she had plenty of experience with adults like that already.

"I know, I know!" The mechanical maiden squawks back, her _Kansai_ dialect already drawing even more eyes as she speaks a little louder than she probably should have. Labrys knows she shouldn't have been looking around so much, but she was overly curious at all the new sights. The only school she'd ever been in was the one she happened to recreate in that alternate world, a copy of the high school in Inaba. "I'm just.. excited, is all."

She knows, and she can't help but be worried because of it.

"More importantly.." Cuts in the only male of their small group, his eyebrow raised slightly as he looked around, head only moving slightly as though not to draw too much attention. "..Detect any Shadows? It _is_ why you're getting sent to this school, after all."

There had been an increase in activity all over the Tokyo area, but recently, it's all become centred around this school. Fuuka's Persona was never wrong in that regard, unless there was interference from an outsider. The power of her ability was why she was so crucial to their entire organisation, even though she wasn't a permanent member. She was only ever called in to the headquarters for scanning areas, or for emergencies– like the rest of SEES's former members.

And if Juno and Fuuka felt a disturbance in this area, it warranted a search. The main problem with that was, their youngest member was in his final year of high school, and picking him up from that one to transfer for work was ridiculous. He probably wouldn't oppose, which was why they haven't told him anything yet, but it was a lot easier if one of the robotic members did the infiltration duty.

It just so happened that a certain silvery haired one had the perfect ability to keep her true identity hidden during that time.

Scowling a little at the man, Labrys begrudgingly furrows her brows for a moment as she tries to pick up any information, ruby-irises flashing a little with a subtle glow, evidence of her not-so-human nature. "..It's.. really vague."

"Vague?"

"I mean, there's something.. but it's weird." A sigh leaves the metal girl's lips. "I can't really describe it. Point is, there ain't any here right now."

The two humans turn their eyes to each other, trying to make sense of the information they had just received. The Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons were made to battle against, and destroy, Shadows. Their ability to sense their main enemy was useful enough, but it hadn't taken them all very long to realise that compared to the support capabilities of Personas dedicated to it.

That wasn't anything technology could fix in only a few years, though compared to the systems that Labrys had been armed with when she first reawakened, she was definitely faring better. The mechanical maiden had rejected any forms of firearms, leaving those to her younger model– Aigis, the last surviving member of the Seventh Generation of Suppression Weapons–, which had left them with simply patching up her physical exterior with stronger steel and upgrading her inner workings.

Still.. at the thought of not knowing what's going on, the auburn haired woman's idle fingers instinctively reach to her waist, a habit she simply couldn't shake in the past six years. She was searching for her Evoker, in the spot where it would be strapped inside it's holster until she needed to pull the trigger. It definitely wasn't as bad as it had been when she first began to use her ability as a Persona-user, but the uncertainty of their current situation sent anxiety through her spine.

For now, until they knew more about the ' _mission_ ' they were on, they could only rely on Labrys and her infiltration.

* * *

Gesturing the three to a pair of seats in his office, a portly middle aged man, Shujin Academy's principal, offers them a place to sit, though by how his eyebrows knit together (made only more noticeable by the distinct sheen of his bald head), it felt a little more like a command. The two women sit down, leaving Akihiko standing quietly with grey eyes never leaving the unreadable expression of the older gentleman.

There hadn't been any vacancies in the second-year classes, where Labrys would've been placed if they were going by her true activation date, so they had no choice but to place her in the first-year. It wouldn't have affected her job at all, but Kirijo Mitsuru; the leader of their organisation and a long time friend of the three, had specifically mentioned she had felt bad about not being able to send the girl off to school sooner.

After the incident that had lead to her reactivation, they had plans to let her go to school in the Inaba region, where she had a multitude of friends built during what happened, but a series of work related problems kept holding them back from ever actually going through with it.

In a way, this was Mitsuru's apology.  
It was why they didn't pick Aigis for this mission.

"So, you two are.." The man picks a thin folder off his desk, presumably filled with the documents they'd created to get the robot in. "Arisato Labrys-san's legal guardians?"

Kotone quickly nods her head in response. "She's a distant relative of mine– we offered to take care of her after a series of.. incidences."

While it wasn't completely the truth, it wasn't exactly a lie, either. They hadn't ever actually 'offered' to take her in; rather, their position as the only members of the Shadow Operatives with stable residence in the Tokyo area made them the perfect candidates. Not only that, but if anything bad actually occurred, their combined battle prowess was enough to hold anything off until reinforcements.

The principal's gaze goes from the auburn haired woman to Labrys, the pair staring at him with all too similar eyes. A slight frown purses onto his thick lips, an expression that's only responded back to with a sweet smile. She's used to these types– apathetic adults uncaring for the children under their care. She'd encountered them in her own past and through her job as a youth counsellor, and she definitely wasn't a huge fan of them.

But as she was no longer a child, someone allowed to yell and scream at adults for their disgusting behaviour, she had to simply smile and nod.

The large man leans back on his swivel chair, his shirt threatening to burst with each movement. "I see.. Well, Arisato-san's record as a model student with fantastic grades will certainly be a great influence on our school. I'm happy to welcome her."

"Thank you very much, sir." The two women bow their heads politely, the elder lifting her own up to smile once more, increasingly faker with every twitch of her rose-coloured lips. "I'm incredibly grateful that Shujin Academy was willing to accept her despite how sudden her transfer in was."

The principal only matched her display of gracious lies. "Of course. Shujin Academy is a place for learning, after all. I wouldn't dare rob a young woman of her education. So long as she behaves, she'll have a wonderful school life here."

Closing the papers on his desk, he turns his gaze to a clock on the wall.

"Speaking of which, it would be best that Arisato-san find her way to her classroom. Class 1-D, third floor."

The three leave the office with murmurs of dislike for the man running through their discussion as they split up, letting Labrys do her job as both a member of the Shadow Operatives and a new student at Shujin Academy, and Kotone and Akihiko returning to outside the school grounds to give a brief report to the headquarters.

* * *

The roads were filled to the brim with cars, people who were all afraid of taking public transport after the recent incidences that have been occurring recently; all in some way, somehow, connected to Shadows. None of them had figured out how it was happening, but it was the only logical explanation in their current situation.

Her fiance's gloved fingers tap over the steering wheel as they're trapped in traffic, the cars moving barely inches as the time ticked down, seconds turning to minutes. Leaning to the car's stereo, she quickly dialled the knob down until the repetitive sound of music is little more than a whisper, the perfect volume for making phone calls.

Scrolling through lists of numbers and names in her smartphone, she comes across the one she's looking for and quickly presses call, putting the speaker on so the both could input in the conversation that was about to occur.

It buzzes for a moment, dialling up, but soon the familiar commanding tone of a voice she knows all too well rings through.

 _"Kotone?"_ She can hear the sound of clicking heels in the background, allowing her to presume that who she had called, the leader of the Shadow Operatives and heiress to the Kirijo Group, Mitsuru. _"How did it go with Labrys?"_

Placing her phone on the dashboard, she begins to give a quick summary of the events that had occurred. She goes through the shadiness of the principal, and the fact that there was definitely _something_ going on at the school, but they didn't know exactly what it was.

A sigh comes through the speakers. _"I see.. To be quite frank, I can't say I'm a fan of Principal Kobayakawa."_

"I wasn't either." Akihiko cuts in, and Kotone hums her agreements. "He came across as big-headed."

 _"When Labrys returns to the office, I'll inform her to keep an eye on the faculty. I suppose the easiest way for her to do that would be.."_ The woman pauses for a moment, and a small chuckle exits her vocal chords. _"Joining the student council."_

A giggle leaves Kotone's own lips, a genuine smile on her face for the first time today. "Lucky Labrys! I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear it."

 _"Yes, she will.."_ They hear the woman take a deep breath, and they realise that things are about to switch into a serious conversation. _"I'm also concerned about the fact she could sense **something** , but she was unsure of if it was Shadows, and where they were."_

"Perhaps we're dealing with something.. similar to what happened in Inaba?" The incident that occurred there, almost five years ago now, had been something of an opening to the world of humanity's consciousness. They didn't know all the details; at the time, they weren't an official unit (and to be technical, they still weren't) and weren't legally allowed to get involved in the case. Combined with setting the organisation up and college, and they weren't able to insert themselves into the situation.

Eventually, a group of teenagers that lived in the area awakened to their own Persona abilities, and managed to right the wrongs that had occurred. It was that place where Labrys was taken and reactivated to cause havoc, and it was those teenagers who helped her accept herself.

Mitsuru sighs. _"You could be right, Kotone.. I'm hoping we'll be able to stop anything big from occurring once more.."_

"For now, we have no choice but to keep watch." Agreements wash through the two women at the man's words, without a single complaint. They couldn't do anything else until they had more information on what was going on. Though, if she were being honest with herself, she had a feeling like things we're going to get messy again, like they had every single time Shadow activity rose in a particular area.

 _"I'm counting on you two. Keep in touch."_

The communication line cuts out, and the two turn to each other with uncertainty in their eyes, unsure of where to go from here. For now, they had to just continue their jobs as regular citizens, while leaving the assessment of the Shadow hot-spot to Labrys.

* * *

The excitement of a new transfer student was relatively dulled out by the fact Shujin had gotten two of them around the same time, and compared to the buzz of gossip that came from having a criminal transfer in, a cute girl in the first year classes simply wasn't as interesting in their eyes. They definitely were happy to have her, girls crowding around her desk and going on about how pretty her hair was and what products she used– always responded back with a ' _whatever we have at home!_ ' and a friendly smile– and boys asking her what her type was and if she had a boyfriend.

But once that initial stage of getting to know the new kid wore off, she was left to her own resources as she wandered around the school's ground, finding it a little awkward to sit in the classroom while everyone else ate their lunch. After all, robots can't eat food, nor can they consume drinks. She slept and had dreams, for what that was worth, though it was more accurate to say it was her systems turning off for regular maintenance while her mind created images based around memories.

Her metal fingers reach for the phone in her skirt's pocket, an older-styled flip phone to compensate for her lack of true skin. Today was April 14th, a Thursday. The day before, she'd heard that they'd had a sports day of some kind, one she wished that she had been able to participate in. She would've had to hold herself back quite a bit, pretending as though she wasn't a weapon built to battle, but it was the fun of getting together and having fun that she wanted to join in on.

..Maybe they'll have another.

As she slides her phone back into her pocket, barely reading the message from her 'guardian' that informed her to go back to the Shadow Operatives headquarters after school, the corner of her peripheral vision catches a flash of white and black, and a distinctive voice falls into her ears.

"Damn it, where are those two!? I won't let them get away with not paying me back for my hospitality!"

Her gaze falls onto where the voice came from, but the only thing she sees is the form of a cat with vibrantly coloured eyes. She blinks for a few moments, trying to process what had just happened, utterly stunned with the only possible conclusion she can think of. She could communicate with dogs, but they didn't speak in a way that was so.. _human_. Dogs did not have a language, they spoke with their emotions and thoughts. She was only capable of doing that thanks to the time she spent with Unit #024, and the memories she inherited. It had become a trait passed down to even the final Anti-Shadow Weapon, despite it's lack of combat capabilities.

But that..

That wasn't her interpreting emotions.

Labrys was sure she just heard that cat talk.

* * *

HEY KIDDOS welcome to way of life!  
if you havent read my other fic 'memories of you',  
then some of the things in this fic might be a little confusing!  
in particular the beginning, as my last fic has an epilogue that kicks off this one, so..  
but to give you a quick summary..  
this takes place in a timeline where both p3 protagonists existed as twins,  
though male mc (minato) was the one death was sealed in.  
femc (kotone) survives the events of the story,  
and will remain one of our main characters in this one!

i wrote that story to both see if it revitalised my passion for writing,  
which it did in masses! as that fic drew to a close,  
i began to think of possible futures for the characters in that timeline,  
lo-and-behold, the basis for this fic was born!

to sum up some things that are canon in this fic..  
the events of p4U do happen,  
but the p3 cast are portrayed closer to their original counterparts,  
instead of being flanderized to hell  
that means no catsuit fur coat mitsuru, and no half nakey dumb muscle akihiko, ect ect  
make sense?

compared to that fic, this one will be a little more laid back,  
thanks to the differences in story giving me the chance to be a little more slice of life  
not to say there wont be much action, bc there will be..  
just, maybe not to the same level as in that fic!

since this isnt a novelisation of p5, rather,  
its the p3 cast doing what they can during the events of p5.  
i wont reveal too much of what i have planned, but please look forward to it!

ok with my dumb ass rambling over,  
i dont know how often this one will be updated!  
im guessing a chapter posted somewhere between every two-five days,  
maybe a week at most? depends on how much i write and how long it takes me to get everything all together!

lets stumble thru this togetherr!  
sorry for the long notes!  
i'll see y'all in the next one, i hope you all enjoyed!


	2. associate

DONT STOP  
BELIEVIN

* * *

Labrys blinks her red-irises once or twice in shock as she tries to process what she had just witnessed, or rather, what she had just heard. By the time she lets herself believe that she did, in fact, see a cat talk real human words, the little feline had disappeared from where it had been. A curse leaves her lips, as she scans the entire area for the four-legged creature, only to fall unlucky. It had completely vanished, to the point where she began to wonder if it had ever been there at all.

Her mind begins to go over the cat's features.

Black and white fur.  
A yellow collar.  
Vibrantly blue eyes.

It didn't feel like a natural living creature. It didn't carry that same presence or feeling as Snowy did, or even the Persona-using dog Koromaru. It just felt.. unnatural. Unreal, even. Her fists clench tight together, the knocking of steel against steel accompanying the tightening motion, and she decides to pull her phone back out, to inform the others of what she had just seen.

She fumbles through the electronic device, unused to even holding one. The model was rather worn and aged, old enough to be an elementary school student, it having been a hand-me-down that Saikawa-san had given her. She had wondered, briefly, where Saikawa-san had acquired it, but she quickly dismissed it off as it simply being Saikawa-san doing what she always did. Simply being incredible at her job as Mitsuru-san's personal maid.

She sends texts; one to Mitsuru-san and one to Kotone-san. They're a little vague, but they get the point across. Just three simple words was all she needed to catch their attention to what she'll tell them when she's got more privacy, something she can't have in the grounds of a school.

 _'Saw something weird.'_

Closing the flip phone, she heads back for the classroom, not wanting to be caught outside her homeroom before the bell.

* * *

After being caught in hellish traffic for a good hour or so, the two finally find themselves back at the apartment complex they had been living in for a little over a year now. It was a nice place, and rent wasn't so bad with the fact they both worked jobs with pretty decent salaries, and how much the Shadow Operatives tended to pay, considering their line of work was dangerous. In the beginning, when the group was just starting up, they insisted that Mitsuru didn't need to pay them, but she was an extremely adamant woman.

Resistance was futile.

They lived in an apartment in _Setagaya-ku_ , not too far from _Yongen-jaya_. It was on the first floor, room 103, and had two bedrooms. They didn't need that second room, but the apartment had been cheap compared to some more expensive one room apartments. They tended to just let that room be for guests, especially for Ken when he occasionally came over. He was always welcome in their home, and they had let him stay with them in their first apartment during the year that the Iwatodai Dormitory for Gekkoukan was closed.

Once her shoes have been kicked off and placed away neatly, she makes her way over to the _butsudan_ , where four framed photographs were on display nearby. Two of the photographs were quite a bit older than the others, one containing an older couple, while the other was a sweet-looking young girl with a bright smile.  
Her parents, and Akihiko's younger sister, Miki.  
The other two frames contained pictures of two teenage boys. One had a dark atmosphere to him, eyes shadowed over by his long brown hair and the black beanie on his head. The other had a gentle, feminine face, blue eyes and matching hair.  
Aragaki Shinjiro, the foster brother of her fiance, and her twin brother, Minato.

She lights the incense, pressing her hands together in prayer as her mind runs over the events of the day, almost as though she were giving a daily report to her brother. She only ever did it if important things happened, like out of habit. He had been their leader during the days SEES operated, so he had tended to know everything. He was a quiet soul, having only opened up during that last year of his life. And even then, with everything that had happened, he had become shaken, and afraid of continuing to show his true self.

It had taken the knowledge of the world's fast approaching end, and a confrontation for him to understand what he meant to them all.  
And that had been enough for him to know that he was willing to die for them.  
It wasn't that he hadn't cared for them all, the abyss had told them all that. It was that he had cared too much.

"What do you think he would've done?" She snaps her carmine-irises open at the voice, angling her head slightly to meet eyes with Akihiko, who had surprised her with his sudden words.

Her petal-dyed lips pout in thought, and once it comes to her mind, she chuckles– light and nostalgic. "..He'd get angry at us for wondering."

"True," Absentmindedly folding his blazer and placing it out on the sofa for tomorrow, he agrees with her words. "He'd probably find it ridiculous that I even thought to ask that question. Same for Shinji, too. Though, he'd probably come down and sucker punch me in the face for even thinking it."

A small giggle ruptures from her vocal chords, as her head nods in agreement. Lifting herself off the ground, finished with her prayers, she makes her way over to the sofa, taking a seat with her legs lifted off the ground.

Briefly checking the message Labrys had sent her, she leans forward on the sofa, her hands clutching her knees. "I can't help but be worried about Labrys.."

"We've just got to trust her.." He sits down beside her, clenching a gloved fist together with his eyebrows knit. "I hope we're able to do something soon.. I hate not being able to step in and help like this.."

* * *

Friday started off like any other day, thought this time she wasn't driven to school, left up to her own devices to make her way to the grounds. After all, both her guardians were working adults who didn't have the luxury of driving her around everywhere during work hours. And she was just fine with that. It was easier to pick up information when she was on train lines with other students.

The morning class went by without too much struggle, her teacher bumbling on about something in the background as her gaze fell out the window by her seat, almost as though she were looking for the cat she'd seen yesterday. The world outside was overcast, drawn over by grey skies and threatening a light drizzle of rain. The overtone that the heavens created was almost too perfect, as out of the corner of her eyes, she spots a figure standing on top of on of the other school buildings.

In front of the fences, on the ledge.

"What is she doing!?" One student gawks, standing from her seat and rushing to get a better look.

Her friend covers her mouth in shock, practically screaming. "Holy shit, she's going to jump!"

The class went into uproar, yelling and shrieking in their disbelief, all scrambling to pull out smartphones or to make their way out the classroom to get a better look. It doesn't take Labrys very long, and without a second look out the window, she pushed herself out of her chair and made a break for the door, her speeds as unnatural as they got.

As she hears everyone shout and screech, she realises that the girl's already jumped off the rooftop. Changing the course of her run from heading to where the girl had been to the ground floor, she finds herself surrounded by a multitude of other people, all crowding in the courtyard with gossips on their tongues. The sound of sirens blasted in her distance, though whether it's the police or the ambulances she doesn't know. She pushes and pushes further into the front of the group, until she meets eyes with the paramedics, surrounding a mangled and bloodied girl, and police and teachers desperately trying to push curious students back into the buildings.

She spots a tall and familiar head of silver questioning a teacher, and on instinct, she calls out. "Sanada-sa––"

Cutting herself off, she remembers that he's currently on duty and doing his job, so she slaps her hand over her mouth to shut her up. Students around her record with their phones, holding them up above heads in order to get a better look. Her hands clutch tight into fists, just what the hell was wrong with these people?! How can they just sit there and **_record_ **it!?

A paramedic walks forward, asking if there was any teachers around to go with the girl, who bickered amongst themselves as to what to do. They only shut up when a beautiful blonde cries out that she'll go, scattering to the girl's side with tears trailing down her face, blue-eyes puffy and red from crying.

The two talk in quiet words, private for only the two, until the blonde gasps out just loud enough for Labrys to hear.

"..Kamoshida!?" The girl passes out as soon as those words leave her friends mouth, and the blonde begins to fret and freak out, her voice hoarse from screaming. "No.. _Shiho_!?"

The paramedics begin to rush even faster, lifting the stretcher into an ambulance and rushing the other girl inside, speeding off to the nearest hospital in hopes of saving the girl's life. The teachers scream and yell at the students, some of whom were trying to get juicy information out of police officers, who ignored with the best of their abilities.

As the principal rushed out as fast as he could, his speed a miracle given the size of the man, and he barks orders at teachers. Her phone buzzes in her pocket, and she pulls it out to check the message– it's from Sanada.

 _'I'll question the principal.'_  
 _'Ask around in a non-suspicious way about the girl.'_

So he did hear her.. Alright.  
With the order given and a lead up her sleeves, they're all rushed back to their classrooms.

Just who the heck is Kamoshida?

* * *

Knocking on the door to the principal's office, Akihiko is quickly let in by an extremely frazzled looking Kobayakawa. The large man was sweating head to toe, his skin glistening with the stuff as he'd thought he was finished with the constant barrage of questions from EMTS and police, only to have another barge right into his office.

His blackish eyes light up with recognition when he meets the face of the man who'd entered his room, words stumbling out of his mouth in a stutter as he attempted to recollect his thoughts and speech.

"Ah, Arisato-san's l-legal guardian, was it?" The principal sits in his seat, dabbing his forehead off with a dirty handkerchief. "I-I'm afraid this is a rather bad time for me.. I'm afraid you'll have to come at another time.."

Silver-irises darken over slightly in thought at the elder man's words, and he slowly nods his head in acknowledgement. "I know."

At the principal's confusion, he quickly begins to dig through his blazer's pocket, pulling his ID and badge out once he finds them, holding it out for the middle-aged man to see. The man scans over the kanji in front of him, slowly looking from the identification to the person holding it out.

"Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Sergeant Sanada Akihiko." Putting his items back in his pocket and taking a seat in the chair across from the large man's desk, he takes a slow breath to control the bubbling bile of disgust that rises in his throat. "May I have a word with you, Principal Kobayakawa?"

The elder gentleman nods his head quickly, the amount of discomfort on his face only rising as the seconds ticked by without a single word leaving the officer's lips. Finally, the white-haired man spoke, his voice calm, but carrying an undertone of something that the principal couldn't quite understand.

"Was there any signs of bullying? Anything that might've tipped you or the faculty off that she was suicidal?"

The bald head shakes side to side. "N-No, nothing that.. that I, uh, knew of.."

"..I see." Eyes narrow, and gloved fists tighten. "Any friends? Did she partake in any clubs? We need to figure out why she might've done this."

"S-Suzui Shiho-san didn't have many friends.. She was a member of our star volleyball team, though."

Kobayakawa's voice is rather proud as he makes large claims about his school's team, going on and on about the tournaments they've won and they Olympic medal winning coach. It was as though speaking about it took his mind off the more important things, or as though he thought those accomplishments were more important than the life of a student under his care.

..Akihiko's heard enough.

Slamming his hand down on the desk, he stands from his chair. "That's all I need to know, thank you."

A flinch runs through the old man, like a pig to the slaughter house, and he watches with shivering bones as the officer walks towards the door, only turning back briefly to address the principal once more.

"I do hope you understand that, that girl was a minor under your supervision. If what happened to her has anything to do with the school, I doubt her parents are going to sit by and pretend as though you all tried to help."

He turns back once more, leaving the room with those words on the principal's mind.

* * *

She's been going around since the accident asking about the 'Kamoshida' person, and so far, she's been able to figure out several things.

One, he's the volleyball club's coach.  
Two, he's an Olympic medallist.  
Three, the girl that jumped was a member of his team.

The team mates of that girl were covered in black and blue bruises, both the male and female members, and were even more skittish today than they were yesterday, fearfully whispering amongst themselves. She approached a pair of boys, one who she remembered was in her class, and questioned them about Kamoshida and the girl, who she'd found out was a second-year named Suzui.

"Y-You two..?" Timid, the volleyball player looks at her with worried eyes.

She raises an eyebrow. "..Did someone else question 'ya?"

"Y-Yeah, yesterday.." The boy fiddles with his bloodied fingers, covered with bandages and bruised down to the knuckle. "Um.. a pair of second-years.. the delinquent with blond hair, I-I think his name's Sakamoto, and the crazy transfer student."

The boy's friend chimes in, a little less afraid than his friend. "I saw them running to the PE faculty office, they were accompanied by Mishima-senpai."

"And where is that!?"

The two flinch as her voice is raised. "U-Uh, the practice building! On the second floor! Near the gym!"

"Thanks!"

She bursts into a fast-paced sprint away from the boys, heading from the classroom block that she had been questioning them in to the practice building, all the way on the other side of the courtyard. She's a snow-blue and black blur to most of the observers, her run at a fast pace in fear of any civilians getting hurt. Sliding to a stop in front of the gymnasium, she hears a loud voice come from the faculty office, and she turns to it, ready to open the door, stopping only as the yelling becomes louder.

A teenage boy's voice, cracking from the decibel he was screaming at. "You _**bastard**_! The hell did you do to that girl!?"

"What are you talking about?" The voice of an older man, a little nonchalant, but with an undertone she couldn't trust.

"Don't," She hears a large bang, the sound of something being knocked over. "Play dumb with me!"

" _That_ is enough!"

The soft voice of a different boy begins to speak, slow and filled with the same fear she heard in those other boys. "What you did.. wasn't coaching..!"

If she could imagine the expression on what she presumes to be Kamoshida's face, she'd say he was extremely miffed. "What did you say?"

"You.. You ordered me to call Suzui here.. I can only _**imagine** _what you did to her..!" Despite the quiver that accompanied his words, there was a certain boldness, and refusal to back down in the boy's tone.

She hears a rolling chair push out. "You're going on and on about things you have no proof of.. Basically, you're simply making these claims because you can't be a regular on the team, right?"

"That's **not** what this is about..!"

"Even if it is exactly as you imagine it to be, hypothetically speaking.." She can hear the smugness in the man's voice, as though he'd gotten away with murder. And for all she knew, he very well could have, if the things she was hypothesising were true. "What can you do? We just received a call from the hospital. Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are _**slim**_.. How would someone like that make a statement?"

Putting on a show, pretend sadness in his voice, she clenches her teeth together in fury, trying to stop herself from barging in there and kicking his damn ass.

"There's no chance of her getting better, I hear.. The _poor_ girl."

A gasp leaves the quiet one's throat. "No.. That can't be.."

"You goddamn..!" The loud one begins his screeching again, and she's beginning to realise that violence might break out.

Clearly, Kamoshida thinks so as well. "This again..? Does this mean we need to have yet another case of ' _self-defence_ '..?"

"You shut your mouth, you son of a bitch!"

With those words from the rowdy boy's mouth, she slams the door open, just in time to catch a tall, dark haired teen grab what she presumes to be the loud-one's arm. He struggles against his friend's grip, trying to throw his punch desperately as he turns back to his friend with disbelieving eyes, while Kamoshida turns to her.

The tall one speaks, voice deep and quiet. "Don't let him get to you."

"But still!"

Labrys steps into the faculty office, the sound of her shoes against the ground catching all three of the teenagers's attentions. "Y'friend's righ'. Don't let him rile y'up like that."

"Come now, boys, we have a guest!" Kamoshida says with a grin, turning almost surprised eyes to the dark haired one. "Still, I'm quite surprised you're stopping him. Let's give our friend a show. There's no need to hold back. Why not attack me?"

She steps to join the boys, and the teacher only continues to smile with nothing but malice in his words. He almost laughs when nobody moves to hit him, eyes only dagger-like glares on his skin.

".. _Ohh_ , you can't." Mocking behind belief, only causing the blond one to shake with fury even more. He finally bursts out into wild laughter. "But of course you can't! Well then.. Everyone present right now.. will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

That's not good.

"Wha..!?"

"You can't make a decision like that!"

Kamoshida scoffs. "Who would seriously consider what scum like you say? You threatened me too, Mishima, so you're just as responsible."

"Huh..?"

"To think you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as you on the team.. You act like a victim, but you leaked Kurusu over there's criminal records, didn't you? It's all over the internet, correct? How terrible." As the boys begin to disbelievingly discuss it amongst themselves, the teacher turns to Labrys. "As for you.. Arisato, was it? I'm afraid that even with your impeccable record, you'll be expelled too. You did threaten me, after all."

Her eyes only narrow.  
It bothered her, it bothered her a lot.  
Even though the person she was right now, the human girl ' _Arisato Labrys_ ' was fake, it still reflected on her.  
Her jaw clenches in tandem with her fists.

The short boy with dark hair, Mishima, falls to his knees. "He told me to do it, I had no choice.."

The couch laughs and laughs, a croaking, wheezing sound that sent chills to her core. He waves a large and calloused hand in the air as he sits back down in his chair, wheeling it back to his desk and turning to his computer.

"Now, are we finished here? You're all expelled! You're done for; your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight."

The blond can't help but scream. "I can't believe this asshole's getting away with this!"

"He'll eat his words." The words are a quiet murmur from the frizzy-haired one.

"..Huh..?" Wide-eyed, the rowdy blond looks at his friend with brief confusion before his eyes light up. "..Oh right! We have that!"

The four leave the office, ignoring the scummy man's words with as much control as they could, it taking as much of it as she can possibly muster to stop herself from running back in there and slamming a metal fist into the man's face. The two delinquent boys leave with quiet whispers about what they're going to do under their breathes, and she resolves to finding them after school in order to see just what that is.

..But first, she needs to report back to headquarters.

* * *

The second the school bell chimed across the empty halls, she burst from her chair and began to run all across campus, searching for the two she'd seen in the faculty office earlier that day. They weren't hard to miss, a boy with bleached hair and a slight limp to his leg, and another with frizzy-black hair and large glasses. She finally spots them, in a small outcrop by the vending machines, and she approaches slowly, eyes lighting up with recognition as she sees the cat on a table nearby.

The blond slams his fist into one of the machines. "We can't waste any time! We gotta hurry up and go to that world and beat the shit outta that asshole!"

"We're not beating him up!" A voice she's heard before, she realises quickly that it's the cat speaking. "We're simply stealing his distorted desires! Look, can I assume that you've made up your minds about this– about how he might suffer a mental shutdown?"

As the cat mentions that, she wonders briefly what he's talking about. She doesn't get the luxury of time to come up with a theory, as the blond nods his head slowly, his voice raspy from his screaming.

"..I have." The boy takes a deep breath. "Someone almost died because of him! I don't give a rat's ass hat happens to him anymore!"

The cat turns to the dark-haired boy. "And you?"

"There's no other way."

The second those words leave the bespectacled one's lips, she decides to step in. The three are shocked by the sudden approach of a girl, though whether it was how she approached without their knowledge or the fact she was eavesdropping that freaked them out, she didn't really know.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she speaks plainly and matter-of-factly. "I don't really know what y'all are gonna do, but you're gonna let me in on it."

"Eh?!" The blond freaks out, pointing at her with confusion. "When did you––?! Who––!? Can you _**hear** _Morgana!?"

The dark haired one turns to her, impeccably calm in comparison. "Why do you want to help?"

"I can't stand the sigh' of that scum.. Turnin' a place o'education into his own personal playground.. Causin' a girl to try and kill herself.." She turns to them, determination filling her ruby-red eyes. "I _**won't**_ let 'im get away with it!"

* * *

JUST HOLD ONTO THAT FEEEEELINGGGG  
im really glad y'all enjoyed that first chapter,,  
i was rlly worried abt it since it was hard for me to get all the ideas i had written down;;  
thats my greatest problem, i can think the plot, but getting it in words is soo hard

anyway? labrys is now a #associate  
WELP

BTW thank u so much to soberan 123 for sending me a shit ton of ideas!  
u were such a huge help in helping me with things i was stuck on!  
thank u thank u thank u!

answerin some reviews!

shadowash- im so grateful for your kind words!  
i lov akihiko too much,, he doesnt get enough love,,

bilbo-sama - ive been playing arena recently, so shes still pretty fresh in my mind!  
i simply couldnt see the shadow operatives sending ken in!  
they didnt get him involved in a lot of their business bc he was still a student/child,  
so i decided that it would be best if they.. simply didnt tell him LMAO  
he'd totally force his way in if he knew, after all

dalzii- labrys is from p4 arena/ultimax! and i havent actually finished p4g myself yet,  
its something i need to get around to doing.. i just know the basics of the plot

writingsoul- yea he just feels... shady. a toad is an apt description of him lmao

I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!  
idk how long it'll be to the next but! look forward to it!


	3. palace

crying emoji

* * *

The two boys are utterly shocked by the fire in her eyes, burning with enough strength to set the world to flames. Her determination was overflowing, the power behind her gaze making it hard to argue back with her. The three, cat included, all turn to each other with questioning eyes, as though they all had no idea as to what to do with her, only turning back to her when another voice joins in.

"..Is it true you're getting expelled?" Labrys turns herself, surprised to see the pretty blonde girl from earlier in the day. "..Everyone's talking about it.."

The loud boy of the two clicks his tongue. "That asshole's at it again..!"

She can feel the anger boiling in his body, sensors telling her that his body temperature was rising the more fury built up. She decides to not say a single thing, and the boy looks back up at the newcomer, one eyebrow raised, while a slight glare was forming in his brown eyes.

"So you came all this way to tell us _that_?"

To everyone's surprise, the girl reprises the words that Labrys had said earlier. "If you're going to deal with Kamoshida.. let me in on it too."

The boys flinch in unison, shocked that not one girl, but two have asked to join in on getting revenge on the asshole they have for a PE coach. The blonde girl tightens her hands into fists, fabric of her short skirt balled up between her fingers, her voice a shivering yell as she tells her reason why.

"I can't just sit back and do **nothing** after what happened to Shiho!"

Kicking rocks under his feet, the loud one speaks up again. "This has nothing to do with you.. _Either_ of you.. Don't butt your heads into this.."

"But it does! Shiho's my––"

"I said don't get in our way!" As he raises his voice at her, the blue eyes framed by long lashes narrow into what she can only describe as a look filled with poison, her throat making a growling noise, pigtails flying as she ran off from the two.

The yelling one looks at the robotic girl expectantly, as though he were waiting for her to leave, but is only caught back with a calm stare, as though she were the eye of a storm. She has half the mind to punch him in the face, but the metal her body consisted of would probably make that impact a little more than a frightening blow.

"What're you starin' at..?" He snarls, looking away from her, and she huffs.

The cat ( _Morgana, was it?_ ) speaks up. "..That was harsh."

"We can't take them somewhere like that.." As he says those words, one of the suspicions that the Shadow Operatives had mulled over last night begins to form into place, backed up by evidence. So, it was completely possible that they were dealing with something similar to the TV World in Inaba.. In that case, it's all the more reason for to try and get them to take her, so she knows how to enter and exit.

Sighing, the cat turns to the black haired one. "I hope she doesn't torment herself over this. When it comes down to it, women don't hesitate."

"It's why y'should be lettin' us fight with you." She snaps back.

The blond scoffs. "We just gotta hurry up and deal with Kamoshida. Let's go already!"

"So you're gon' let me come with?" She talks with a genuine curiosity in her tone, and the three turn to her with furrowed brows, though the loud one in particular seemed ready to start another argument up about it.

Before he's able, the frizzy one responds. "It's gonna be dangerous."

"I know."

"You won't believe us if we told you where we were going."

"I've seen stranger things."

"..What's your name?" At first, his words don't register in her mind, and she blinks ruby eyes once or twice to let it sink in. It's the same for his two companions, one who argues with him about it, and the other making a face that's rather odd for something with the body of a cat.F

She smiles for the first time that day, bowing her head politely. "First year, class 1-D, Arisato Labrys."

"Kurusu Akira, class 2-D. This is Sakamoto Ryuji, class 2-E, and Morgana."

* * *

The three lead her into an alley way just outside the school, no doubt a sight worthy of calls to the police, considering they were two delinquents and a prim looking girl heading for somewhere dark and dangerous. Despite that, they only stop about half way in, just behind some industrial ventilation fans, where the two look around for any others as Morgana begins to speak up.

"The moment we cross over, we'll treat each other like phantom thieves, so I hope you're ready."

Sakamoto turns to the cat with confusion. "Huh? Phantom thieves?"

"Those who covertly sneak in and stylishly steal Treasure–– that is what we become!" He sounds awfully proud of it, and if it were any other day of her life, she'd probably bark back about breaking the law. Fortunately for her new comrades, she had a mission to work for, and it was one that required her cooperating with these three to figure out.

Kurusu fiddles with his overly long bangs. "I see.."

"That sounds kinda cool!" The blond grins excitedly, and quickly makes a confirmation of something she actually hasn't heard about yet. "So we just say the school, Kamoshida's name, and.. castle? Then we end up in bizarro world."

"Mind explain' it for me?" She asks, and the two teens pull out their phones, something she presumes she also has to do. They wince and make a few passing comments about the age of her phone, which she laughs off with a slight sweat down her back.

"I got no idea." The limping one shrugs, turning to Morgana. "..So how the hell's all this work? Someone make it?"

"I dunno." Kurusu shrugs his own shoulders, and the two sigh in unison.

Putting their phone's away, the Sakamoto chuckles, a slightly awkward sound. "That's kinda creepy, but eh, it seems useful enough.. We just gotta show that effin' Kamoshida!"

Proudly standing straight, the cat smiles up at them. "Let's go!"

As the two boys begin working in their phones, they have zero clue to the observer following them, something she's only able to pick up on thanks to being made for battle. She chooses to not mention anything, deciding that if they didn't want either girl to be joining them, then they shouldn't have let Labrys come along in the first place. They should've known that the pretty girl was going to follow them with how determined she was.

The world around them begins to bend and shift, black and red splotches forming in her vision. Instinctively she closes her eyes, hoping to sway off the feeling of motion sickness that came with the pulsing colours, only opening them when an all too familiar aura pushes down on her body.

She looks around for a moment, meeting eyes with what looked to be a plush toy, some sort of mafia member, and the very definition of what people thought when they heard the words 'phantom thief'. Without even thinking, she begins to burst into laughter, something that clearly embarrasses the two boys greatly.

"Hey! Why're you laughin'?" Yells Ryuji, pointing at her with a yellow gloved hand. "You got some weird robo-girl appearance!"

At those words, her laughter snaps to a halt as she tries to observe her body, disbelief filling her eyes as where she thought the pale human-like skin on her arms would show, it instead only shows the red metal of her lower arms. She pats herself down, relieved to find her uniform still firmly on her person, but the familiar weight on her back seems to imply that her true form isn't the only thing that's suddenly made a reappearance with their entrance to this odd realm.

She had kept it on her at all times, but it had always been hidden thanks to her ability.

"Hey, Morgana.." The two turn to Akira, who begins to ask a question of some kind. "We got these outfits after we first summoned our Persona.. does that mean Arisato-san can summon one?"

She's surprised. They can already summon theirs? Rather, she's relieved that they think her robotic appearance is something similar to the odd clothes that they're wearing. And for now, she'll let them believe that.

Before the cat can answer, she pipes up. "Yeah, I can summon a Persona. So y'all didn't need t'worry about me gettin' hurt in here, because I can fight just fine for myself."

She's literally a robot built for fighting, but she leaves that little slice of info out. It's enough to satisfy Kurusu's want for answers, and the four turn into a small circle to begin discussing what their about to do. Just before they can, she cuts in with curiosity, angling her gaze to Morgana.

"So, could you run down what this place is for me?" Labrys _**needs** _this info. She knows how they enter now, thanks to Ryuji mumbling it out loud, but she doesn't actually know where the heck they are. And the only one who seems to have the answers for her happens to be the odd cat that messes with her senses.

He scoffs a little, as though he's tired of explaining, but obliges. "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects. In this case, it's how that Kamoshida guy sees the school. I guess it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialised. I've been calling such a place a 'Palace'."

Nodding her head along, she takes mental notes to recite back, though so long as she's able to get back to the headquarters, they can just go through her memory banks to find out all this information if she forgets.

Ryuji cuts in. "This is cause that freakin' ass thinks the school is his own damn castle."

"And the outfits that you're all wearing are also because of this world. Anything distorts according to how the ruler pleases within his Palace. So, in order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion you hold within."

She actually doubts that her appearance changing to her real one is because of a 'rebellious' will. In fact, she theorises it's more to do with the fact that two distortions clashed together in one location, and her's happened to get become override when compared to the scummy and corrupt way Kamoshida saw the world. A will of rebellion might be how they received their appearances, but she wonders if it just has to a be a strong will of 'something' for the same thing to work..

She'll have to talk to Mitsuru-san about it.

As they begin to walk to the front of this strange castle thing, she begins to ask several questions, small ones relating to the boys, who she continuously refers to as her senpai, despite their insistence on her not doing so. For all intensive purposes, she was Arisato Labrys, a human girl who was their junior at school. She definitely wasn't Labrys, the only surviving Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

Her red-eyes are filled with curiosity as they look at Morgana. "And, what exactly are you?"

"I'm a human–– an **_honest-to-god_** human!" When she raises an eyebrow at him, he cuts in before she can say anything. "I lost my true form.. and to regain my true form, I'm investigating these places."

..So that's why he felt unnatural, not like an animal. If he were a human, stolen of his real form, it made sense why he didn't register as such to her. She quickly accepts and understands, something that surprises all three of the boys she's with, but they're suddenly cut off from their plan making by a large yell of surprise.

Another girl's voice, not her own. "––What is this!?"

They all turn in shock, meeting eyes with the uniform wearing blonde girl from before, and Ryuji shouts out her name in surprise, the first time she's been able to hear who that girl is today.

"T-Takamaki!?"

Relief washes over the beautiful girl's face. "That voice.. Sakamoto!? And.. are you Kurusu-kun!?"

The girl acknowledges Labrys's presence, though the fact she doesn't know the silver haired robot's name means she doesn't actually vocalise it. She just points in shock as the mechanical maiden waved a red hand.

Wh-Wh-Why are you here!?"

The two blondes enter a screaming match. "How should I know!? What's going on!? Hey, where are we..!? Isn't this the school!?"

"I see.." The four humans turn to Morgana, who places one of his white paws underneath his comically large chin– or, where it was supposed to be. "Perhaps she was dragged in because of that app thing. If multiple people can enter with the people who used it, it stands to reason it'll pull anyone nearby."

"For real..?"

She gives a good pat on the head to the cat, who tries whacking her hand away. "You're pretty smart, for a lil guy!"

"Wait, so _**this** _is related to Kamoshida!?" The girl, Takamaki, asks with desperate eyes, searching for any sort of answer amongst the group.

Waving his hands forward, Ryuji forces words out. "Anyways, you've gotta leave!"

"No!"

The two argue like children, and Morgana scoffs once more, as though he can't believe what's going on. "The Shadows are going to find us if you make a scene."

Now that he mentions it, she _can_ sense Shadows all around them. There's a particularly strong one here somewhere, but all the distortion is making it hard for her to pinpoint. It wasn't her strong suit, that was why they used amplifiers for Mitsuru-san's Persona, or called in Fuuka-san, but it was even worse than normal.

"No way! It talked!?" She gasps, covering her mouth in a mix of shock and horror. "Oh my god, it's a monster cat..!"

The cat's blue eyes widen. "Monster..?"

"You better explain what's going on! I won't leave until you do!"

Sakamoto runs a hand through his short dyed hair, sighing. "Looks like we gotta force her."

"How're we supposed to do that?" Kurusu raises an eyebrow behind his mask.

Rolling his eyes, evidently tired of the constant questioning, the cat pipes up. "Just take her back the way we came in. That's how it worked last time, right?"

As those words leave the cat's vocal chords, the two boys awkwardly scratch the back of their necks in realisation, having made a huge scene over something so simple. A sigh is on the blond's lips, and he turns back to his suit-clad friend.

"Can you lend me a hand?"

A nod of his dark haired head, and the two approach the girl. "Got it."

"What're yo––"

Sakamoto cuts her off, again. "We'll explain after everything's over!"

The two boys forcefully lead her out of the Palace, leaving Morgana and Labrys to wait for them by the entrance. She can hear Takamaki scream and yell in frustration as they push and shove, fighting back against them until Kurusu forcefully picks her up with the help of his friend and takes her away.

* * *

The two return with tired faces behind their odd masks, sighing and stretching out tired muscles, from only dealing with a teenage girl. She briefly wonders if it would've been better if she had dealt with it, her mechanical frame making it far easier for her to lift a tall girl like that up, and she wouldn't have had such a hard time taking her away, either. As she thinks that, she decides that it was best that she didn't help out, considering she was still supposed to be a normal girl right now, not a robot– despite her appearance.

"We better be careful from now on when we use that app.."

Morgana jumps high in the air, high enough to probably slap the boy across the cheek. "You should've checked the tools you used! God, why do I– the one who was just watching– know more about it than you two!?"

"Sh-Shuddup!" Ryuji whines, crossing his arms over his chest with embarrassment. As he gets over his little fuss, he sighs and scrambles his hair even more. "Geez, Takamaki found out right when we were startin' off.. We've gotta deal with this fast!"

"That girl's name is Takamaki Ann, right?" Oh, so that's her full name. Combined with her foreign features, the wide blue eyes and blonde hair in particular, she wonders if the girl's a _haafu_. ".. Lady Ann.."

As the cat says those words, she's reminded all too much of a certain bear from her time in Inaba, who happened to be incredibly attached to her. He would go on and on about how he was her knight, and how he'd keep her safe.

She giggles, leaning down slightly. "What'cha thinkin' there, Morgana?"

He turns away from her, and she swears she can see a cartoonish blush on his large cheeks.

* * *

Adjusting the sleeves of her grey sweater slightly, Kotone shifts her bag over her shoulder slightly as she paced down the hallway of The _Sanno_ Hospital, which had been the closest hospital to Shujin Academy that the paramedics were able to rush that girl to. If it wasn't for the influence that both Akihiko-san and Mitsuru-san had, she probably wouldn't be allowed to enter that girl's room, but here she was.

Her knuckles rap against the wooden door to the room, indicated by the nameplate reading 'Suzui' on the front. It takes quite a few moments for anything to happen, but the door soon peaks open just a tad, brown eyes puffy and red from tears looking down at her. The slight wrinkles and worried expression immediately tells her that this has to be the victim's mother.

The woman stares with suspicious eyes. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Arisato Kotone," She begins, smiling sweetly at the woman in order to invoke her trust. "I'm a youth counsellor."

"I don't know why you're here.." The woman is hysterical, her voice a harsh mix between a whisper and a yell, as though her throat was so tired of screaming and sobbing that she couldn't raise it anymore. "My daughter is in a _coma_."

Her gaze lowers slightly, face falling. "..I know. I'm actually here to talk to you."

The middle aged woman looks over the younger one, gaze falling from the large red-eyes framed with thick lashes, to the youthful glow to her cheeks, to the bounce that her slightly long auburn curls had. As she analysed the newcomer, she can't feel a sense of bad intentions, like there wasn't a single underlying motive behind this woman's sudden appearance.

"..Come in."

The door creaks open slightly, allowing her to see into the white-walled hospital room. The smell of antiseptic is strong in the air, and she meets the sleeping figure of the victim, her leg elevated and in a case, covered in bruises and cuts from her fall. She looked peaceful, despite the fact she had been through such a traumatic experience.

She enters slowly, bowing her head in a form of politeness to both the mother and daughter, even if one couldn't see her gesture. "Thank you."

* * *

The four hide behind a pillar out front of the castle, worry filling their thoughts as Morgana clicks his tongue and turns back to them from where he'd been peering out from behind the large outcrop they were hiding by, the look on his face speaking miles ahead of anything his vocals said.

"The Shadows have noticed us." Labrys hears Ryuji curse, and Akira kick a non-existent rock. "You better brace yourselves, got it?"

Turning to the dark-haired boy with a smile curling on his cartoonish face, he gives the teenage boy a thumbs up, or what constitutes as one with the way his little hands were shaped.

"We're counting on you, Joker!"

She and the blond express confusion at the same time, but he's the first to vocalise it. "Joker? That a nickname?"

"Don't refer to it in such a lame way!" The cat crosses his stubby arms. "It's a code name! What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name!? I'm not down for that! And besides, there's no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have on the Palace.. It's just a precaution."

The two nod slowly, though he continues to question. "So, uh.. Why's he Joker?"

"Because he's our trump card when it comes to fighting strength!"

Kurusu shrugs his shoulders, nonchalant in every way. "Not bad."

"It's settled then!" He's clearly proud at the fact his code name was accepted to easily, and he soon turns to the other two. "Next up is you, Ryuji. You'll be.. Let's see.. 'Thug'."

The rowdy teen stomps his foot down, causing the cat to flinch. "Are you pickin' a fight with me!? I'll choose it myself!"

He crosses his arms in thought, tapping the foot he doesn't limp on up and down as he begins to pick his brain for a nickname of some kind. He hums and furrows his brow, visible by the way his eyes squinted slightly as he did so, and bit his lip slightly.

Finally, he snaps his fingers. "When it comes to me, it's gotta be this mask. Honestly, I actually kinda like it. What if we named me after this."

"Fine.." Morgana is clearly not impressed. "Why not 'Skull' then?"

"Ooh!" The boy fist pumps excitedly, relishing in the sound of his new nickname. "That sounds awesome! I'm Skull!"

He laughs happily, and for once in the short amount of time that she's known the guy, she finally thinks he's not all that bad. He came off as a little rude and annoying, but the way he excitedly and somewhat childishly responded to these things reminded her of someone else she knew. Just as the faces of her friends come to mind, he turns to her.

"Right, hey, Arisato? You have a mask too, right? How else do you summon your Persona?"

As he says those words, she purses her lips in thought. So, was that how these kids summoned theirs? Most of the members of the Shadow Operatives used Evokers, special gun-shaped items that they would aim to their heads and pull the trigger in order to bring their Personas out. And her friends in Inaba used tarot cards, smashing them with their weapons.

She and her younger sister, Aigis, had Evokers built into their systems, meaning they didn't need an external way to summon. But as she's pretending to be human right now, she slides down her visor over her eyes, scowling a little as it obstructs her vision.

"Ooh, that looks cool!" He squawks, eyes sparkling. "Okay, then Arisato is 'Knight'! Now then, what do we do about this one's code name?"

He gestures with his foot to Morgana, and they all turn to the short furry creature, who looks up at them with a puzzled look in his large eyes. They all think for a moment, trying to come up with something that would suit the cat, but Kurusu–– rather, _Joker_ , speaks up.

"What do you think?"

Ryuji kicks his leg out. "How 'bout.. 'Mona'?"

"..Well, if Joker thinks it's easier to call me that, then I'll go with it." The cat puts his arms on his little waist, huffing his chest out and looking up at them with a commanding look, one that didn't work so well with how much he looked like a prize from a crane game. "Alright, from here on out, we're Joker, Skull, Knight, and Mona. We need to be absolutely thorough about using those code names from now on!"

The three nod in agreement, and begin their entry to the Palace.

* * *

i kept listening to the hardcore love live songs while writing this lol

they're seriously great!  
my favs are muse's loveless world and datte datte aa mujou  
and pretty much all of aqours's discography ;;  
everything they've pulled out so far is a total bop and im so #blessed

HERES SOME FUN FACTS WHILE IM HERE!  
so, with my limited japanese skills, i was able to figure out what position  
akihiko would have in the police force by his age, as well as what sort of salary they get paid!  
same for kotone's job, in japan she would technically be a part-timer,  
though her work would get her paid quite a bit considering shes working in the tokyo area  
and she has the influence of the kirijo group backing her!

i also hunted down apartments in the setagaya area to see what sort of space they'd be living in!  
their apartment is based off one that i saw on a listing! it was a real nice one, lol  
so, to sum it up.. i do too much research LOL..

ANYWAY

uminight- COP AKIHIKO WAS THE REASON I WATCHED TRINITY SOUL;;  
he looked soooo good in that outfit im just /ok hand emoji 2x/  
just imagine that when u see him in this fic,,,  
and ken's most likely in his last year of high school!  
p5 doesnt have an exact year to it, but it corresponds with the 2016 calendar!

in 2016, ken would've been 17 turning 18,  
which is the same age as the third years were in p3,  
meaning hes most likely in his third year!  
and he'll be making an appearance sometime in this fic!

shadowash- GOSH YEAH it really shocked me too!  
shiho was the social link we needed but didnt deserve.. i love her  
yeah kamoshida is fucked up if i could i'd fucking punch his ass into the stratosphere  
AKIHIKO REALLY DOES HES SO UNDERAPPRECIATED..  
his development in p3 is sooo good and i feel like people ignore him bc of how they treated him in PQ/P4U  
which makes me sooo angry! so i ignored that characterisation.  
never happened (lmao)

I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THIS ONE!  
i'll see u in the next chapter!


	4. taken

hoo boy with the announcement of a p5 anime..  
i cant wait to see the discourse between using the protags  
manga name vs his anime name

* * *

Kotone takes a seat on a chair in the room, trying to dull out the distinctive hospital smell in the room, which attacks her senses like bugs to wildflowers. She's never liked hospitals, having been in and out of them far too many times in her life, but in this one occasion she refuses to let it get to her. The older woman also sits down, taking the seat by her comatose daughter's side, gently taking the girl's bruised and in her own and meeting eyes with the newcomer, filled with grief and sorrow at what's happened.

Silence permeates in the air, invasive in every way possible, sending anxious chills up and down her spine. She clutches at the bag on her lap, fiddling with it's opening flap, listening to the click of the metal rhythmically. Neither she or Suzui-san say a single word, letting the cold atmosphere between the two only worsen with every passing second, until she finally opens her lips to speak, voice soft, yet honest.

"Counsellors.. are usually only ever in it for money." She begins, shrugging her shoulders. "They don't really care for helping.. All they want out of you is their next paycheck."

The older woman stares, confusion filling her dark eyes. "..I'm sorry..?"

"So you're probably wondering what makes me different." A smile forms, rose-dyed cheeks flushing a little redder with every word. "And you're right to doubt. No one called for me, and you certainly didn't hire me. I simply showed up out of the blue, asking to be let in."

Shifting long curls of auburn behind her ear, she looks at the heels on her feet, kicking them underneath the chair she sat on. The woman's face was unreadable, thanks to the tear stained cheeks and eyes puffy and red, bloodshot beyond belief.

"I became a counsellor to help kids who were like me."

The woman raises an eyebrow. "..Like you?"

"..I don't tell strangers this.. but with everything that's happened to you today.. I think it might help you understand my reasons." She takes a slow, deep breath, wondering where to start. "..My brother and I lost our parents when we were six, in a car accident. It was a miracle that we both survived it."

She leaves out the fact that everything behind that accident was supernatural in nature, from the secret hour in between one day and the next, to the fact it had been a momentous fight between a robotic girl and Death itself that had caused the car crash in the first place. The woman reacts about the same way as most people did, covering her mouth in shock and looking on with surprise.

Kotone waves a dismissive hand. "So, we moved around the country a lot, from family to family, relative to relative. We had so many different therapists, so many different counsellors.. And nearly all of them were the exact same. They would provide us with help, but.. it was never long-term. They didn't actually care for us.. they cared for their paychecks. And once my brother realised that, the distant personality he had developed, and the cold walls he'd built up.. They only became worse."

Thinking of the right words to say next, she begins to realise that now that she's this far into the story, she'll have to tell it to it's end. She formulates the words in her mind, clumsily trying to figure out ways to say things without mentioning any of the.. darker, more unbelievable element.

"It was only when we moved back to our home town, and into the dormitory's at a school that he began to move on. It had taken him ten years, and a lot of nudging on my end, but he finally began to open back up." She decides to leave out what happened to her brother in the end, deciding that it would only put a damper on the mood. "What I'm trying to say, in a stupid and roundabout way, is that maybe a change of pace would be good for your daughter."

It takes a moment for everything to sink into the older woman's mind, but once it does, she slowly nods in agreement, having soaked up every word of information that had been delivered. Perhaps if she had a pen and paper, she'd be writing things down.

The woman, clutching her daughter's hand even tighter, looks with a questioning gaze. "So.. what does that mean?"

"Maybe she should change schools, or at least find herself in a location that's brand new. Somewhere she can gain a fresh start, distance herself from everything that happened." She opens up her bag quietly, and pulls a small folder of papers out, handing it over.

"Gekkoukan High isn't far from here, and with your daughter's grades, she should be able to enter easily if you can't pay. And even then, I have some connections.. And, if she does go there, I know the student council president. I'll ask him to take care of her, help her get comfortable while she's new."

Suzui-san takes the folder gingerly, opening it up and going over the files that were placed inside. They were things like enrolment papers, information on the school and it's history.. anything that the girl and her family needed to know. Kotone closes her bag as fast as she had opened it, standing up from her chair and tugging on her cardigan's sleeves, wandering to the door.

As she opens it and steps out, she looks back once, with shimmering carmine-irises. "I know she'll get better, Suzui-san. I'm praying for her."

A quick wave of her pale hand, and she closes the door behind her, wandering down the hallways to find the exit. Now that she's dealt with the victim's family, she needs to report back.. She sighs, only hoping that Akihiko or Labrys are getting closer to some answers than she is.

* * *

"Alright! Let's go nab this Treasure thing!"

Labrys–– rather, she was currently 'Knight', follows the three as they lead her around the front entrance, making their way to the infiltration spot that they'd apparently been using each time they'd arrived here, which was happened to be a number exceeding what she had expected. It was only twice, but it was still surprising to see them so well adjusted to this sort of thing.

They bring her to a large hole in the castle's wall, and she watched as Joker did a large jump and flip in order to scale the building to reach what must be their entrance. He stands with his gloved hand held out for them, and Skull fist pumps a little with a wide grin on his face.

"Looks like they don't know 'bout this way in yet."

She takes a large leap up, not needing to grab hold of anything, and turns back to the blond. "Then let's keep it that way."

"Joker, Skull, Knight.. Are you ready? Let's go!"

The duo help Mona and Skull up into the entrance, and they descend down into what appears to be a library of some sort, though the golden doors lead out into a hall of some kind. The ways are covered in a dark coloured wallpaper, and white furniture adorns the room, almost to make the place seem more regal than it actually was. Their footsteps are light as they exit the room, stopping briefly before they open another door as a loud voice rings out in the empty halls.

It's a deep, masculine voice, though the distortion behind it was enough to tell the group that it wasn't the voice of a real human– it felt manufactured, even a little like someone running their own voice through an electric fan. "Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!"

"Wh-What the hell?!"

In a room filled to the brim with armoured soldiers, thousands of shimmering chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, stands the lonesome cognition of Kamoshida Suguru, dressed in his fine red robes, little golden crown perched atop his mess of black hair.

"Hey, look! Ain't that.."

The glimmer of eerie yellow that his eyes have taken on is all she needs to see to know what he is, their colour all too similar to how her own Shadow's had been. They could pierce the strongest of armour, and look directly into the soul of it's enemies. But in this castle, he had no need to be doing such riff-raff on his own, after all, he had plenty-a loyal servants to do that for him. He just had to sit back and watch, occasionally joining in on the torturous games if he truly wanted to.

The man takes a deep breath, stepping forward on the balcony with thick, hairy legs. "Those intruders the other day were quite entertaining. However, I can't allow that trash to ransack my castle! Strengthen the security! Kill them on sight! I'll reward whoever brings me their heads!"

As he gives the commands, waving his velvety coat around, his arms lift it up just high enough for them all to peek underneath, nothing but the bare, muscular body of the man, and tight pink briefs. She feels almost sick as she sees the dark hair crawling all over him, like spider legs or clumpy mascara, and she can see the boys look equally as uncomfortable staring at him.

The soldiers, however, seem to see it as something to rally behind, as they raise their weapons high into the air, chanting the phrase they had chanted earlier over and over again, like a mantra to indoctrinate anyone who didn't completely agree with their king's ideals.

The four slide behind the walls around the doorway, her metal body squished tight behind Skull's own as she tries peering through her visor while not letting them see an inch of her, whether it be the distinct shade of her eyes, or the long silvery hair that flows as she moves. The teenage boy crouching in front of her turns to the cat and the suit-clad boy, a questioning tone on his voice.

"Hey, Mona." The cat looks up. "Can't we just beat the crap outta him and call it a day?"

She wonders that briefly, herself. It was the fastest, easiest way they all dealt with Shadows in the past, but it didn't seem to be in Mona's style of doing things. That much was obvious by how the cat puffed out his chest, crossing his stubby arms as he glared at the blond.

"Look at all those soldiers, idiot! It'd be suicide!" Now that the words are out, she realises that it might've been a little too impulsive for them to rush in like that. Maybe with a team of trained professionals like she was used to, who had enough experience under their belt for a lifetime, but with a group of newcomers? She'd be sentencing them to the gallows. "And I'm sure you don't want a repeat of last time. Ugh, and besides, don't you want him to confess his sins? There's no point beating him up. We need to steal his materialised desires.. The Treasure."

She doesn't bother asking about the last time, because she has a pretty good idea of what went down just by context. Skull groans and sighs, not overly loud, but definitely loud enough to piss off Mona even more.

" _Fiiine_." He makes sure to extend the vowel as long as he can. "So, where is it?"

"It has to be somewhere in the depths of this castle. Let's just infiltrate further in while he's out here!"

With those final words, the three men stand back up straight, giving her back her personal space, and they begin to slowly back away from the large entrance hall, opening up another door where they're ambushed by a knight. They're nearly caught, until they all manage to squeeze in a slither of space in between the door and a large bookshelf.

Skull curses under his breath. "Dammit, there's a guard over here too.. Should we kick its ass?"

"Hold on.." Mona holds up a paw. "Hmm.. this might be a good opportunity to teach you something.. Alright, Joker! Are you ready to take it down?"

The stoic boy nods his head. "Let's go."

They run and attack, the suit-clad teen slamming his long knife into a gap in the knight's armour, causing it to explode into sludge of black and red, taking on the form of a small and cute fairy-like woman. She flutters her wings back and forth, glaring angrily at them, though her size and cute face makes it hard to take her expression seriously.

As Mona talks to Joker about some basic battle info, which she decides to zone out of, she let's what looked to be wings on her back take their true shape. The handle shoots out from it's shrunken state, and the axe's dual blades properly slide into their position. She reaches for the battle axe, pulling it out and taking hold with both hands, feeling almost in her natural element with it returned to her grasp.

However, she's soon stopped by Mona, who mentions something about Hold-Ups, talking to Shadows instead of beating them, and knocking them down. In a way, what he says made sense. Shadows are born of people, but all the talking Shadows she's known have been extremely powerful in some form. Not.. lackeys for another, stronger Shadow. She feels like ignoring the orders of the cat, but in the end, she keeps the axe firm in her metal hands,watching as Joker pulls out a pistol and aimed it, firing for the pixie-girl and clipping her wings.

They approach the downed creature, and she looks up at them with tearful eyes. _**"Seriously!? You guys are the intruders that King Kamoshida was talking about..? It can't get any worse than this.. What're you going to do with me?!"**_

He continues to hold the gun to the girl's head, and he slips into the mask of a criminal like it's another suit he's wearing. "Give me some money."

 _ **"Huh!?"**_ She gasps in disbelief, shock drawing over her pretty little face. **_"So you'll let me live if I just give you money?"_**

Mona scoffs, crossing his arms. "Well, something along those lines.. Now let it be money or items, just cough it up!"

Knight can hardly believe how easy they all are able to act like sheer monsters like this, her eyes wide with disbelief behind her visor as they continued to ruthlessly pin the pixie down for her cash. The hand around her axe tightens, increasingly more uncomfortable with the slightly illegal nature that things are slipping into, the only thing keeping her from disciplining them being her job.

 _ **"But, this happened so suddenly.."**_ The pixie mumbles, sweat dribbling down her pale forehead. _ **"..I actually don't have anything on me.. I-I usually do though, you know!?"**_

"W-Wait, what?" The cat blanks out completely, only further confirming her comparison of him to a cartoon character. "Oh.. this wasn't how I was planning this to go. Uh, anyways, it can't be helped if that's the case. Time for you to go to hell."

She cries out, blue eyes filled with tears. _**"W-Wait!"**_

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry."

 _ **"No, wait up! Can't we work something out? Don't kill me, please! Won't you let me go?"**_

Her grasp tightens on her axe, almost ready to swing the blunt end of it into all three of her companions's bodies, when Joker holds his free hand up, as though he's signalling them all to put down their weapons.

Her eyes light up. _**"Are you the type who can't say no? I totally know how you feel, I'm the same way."**_

As the conversation between Joker and this girl became less of a hold up and more like girly gossip, the girl's body began to glimmer and glow for a moment, and she shifted into a mask exactly like the one on the teenage boy's face, sliding into his hands. Disbelief fills everyone watching's gaze, unable to comprehend what had just happened, though she sort of has an idea.

Skull looks back and forth, between the cat and his human friend, eyes wide. "Wh-What the hell was that about? The enemy got sucked up into Joker's mask!"

"I-I have no idea! I wasn't expecting that either.."

She opens her mouth to explain it to them, when they're all cornered in by yet another armoured soldier, who shutters in it's armour and splatters into two large, black rams. They kick their hooves and growl dangerously, and Joker quickly shifts his hand to his mask, summoning the Shadow from earlier. It summons bolts of lightning, not the strongest ones she's ever seen, but they cripple the Shadows in front of them in time for a hold-up.

Both his companions squawk in disbelief, eyes wide as they excitedly question the teenage boy over and over again, never giving him a chance to respond back with their constant barrage.

..This is going to be a long day, and even so, she can't help but smile.

* * *

Ann looks around the dark area in confusion, plumes of purple light swirling in the air around her. The place she had found herself in was far too familiar, being the exact same as where she'd found Sakamoto and his friends hanging around after that weird headache of black and red.

"This is that place from earlier..!" She murmurs in disbelief, quickly pulling her phone out of her jacket's pocket. "..What's up with this app?"

Said app stares back at her ominously, a single eye with a star where the pupil should be. The colour scheme wasn't exactly comforting either, it's choice of vibrant red against pitch black being a bit of a headache despite the fact she was only staring at the app's icon on her phone's home screen. Her eyebrows furrow, creasing her tanned forehead slightly as blue eyes pierce over the words on the screen.

"I just said the words Sakamoto said, and I ended up––"

Something cuts her off. "Princess?!"

Confused, she looks up as several armoured men approach her, continuously calling her 'Princess' as they run towards her, the clanging of their metal bodies terrifying as they inch closer and closer with every passing second. She tries to back off, desperate to escape, but they take hold of her in powerful grasps, dragging her along with them.

The only thing she can do in response is scream at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Skull groans, looking around the corner of a cut-off wall.

"Aren't there even more Shadows here than before?" He asks, and Knight nods her head in silent agreement. Well, she wouldn't actually know if there was more here than normal, but it definitely felt like there was an overabundance of the monsters. "Just gettin' this far's been a real pain in my ass!"

Mona crosses his arms, frowning up at them all. "It's all because you guys provoked Kamoshida, you know."

"Excuse me?" She cuts in, and is immediately ignored.

"Still.. he seems to be awfully on guard.."

She rolls her eyes, and the blond beside her speaks back up. "Anyways, how're we supposed to steal that Treasure thing?"

"Don't be so hasty." The cats scolds, and she winces slightly at the tone he uses. Sometimes, Mona could sound real full of himself, and she's only known him proper for about three or four hours now. "First, we'll need to secure an infiltration route."

"A what..?"

"A path to the Treasure's location." He frowns slightly, looking away. "But honestly, I think we'll need a little more manpower in order to accomplish this. Even with Knight, at the very least, just one more person would be nice.."

Question on his tongue, the rowdy blond looks down at the black cat. "Hey, you say you don't have your memories and all, but somehow you still know about that kinda stuff? Do you think this thing's really got amnesia?"

He turns to Joker, who places his hands in his pockets and turns his gaze from his human friend, down to his feline companion. He's silent for quite a few moments, letting a certain tense atmosphere build up, before he finally opens his mouth and speaks.

"I believe in Mona."

A smile curls on the cat's face. "At least you're a step above that moron."

She winces once more. She's not really sure how these guys can all work together when one of them is so blatantly hostile to another, and is clearly picking favourites. In terms of battle, and keeping the group properly close knit, they can't have infighting like this. It's something they'll have to work out, else things'll get bad in the future. She's heard from stories, about a time when SEES was still secretive to it's new members, that a huge fight had happened because emotions had built up.

..She really wouldn't want to see that happen here.

"Don't call me a moron!" Skull's voice is harsh, almost as harsh as Mona's had been when insulting him. These two were as bad as each other, honestly. "You sure talk big, but what if it turns out you're just some stray cat in the end?"

"..That.." Large blue eyes look down, filled with worry at the possibility. "That can't be.."

"Alrigh', that's enough you two––" Just as she starts to break up the fight, the familiar clanging of armour down the empty halls alerts them all to the presence of another guard, and they quickly scatter to hide. As if the loud noise of his armour clashing against everything wasn't enough, he was talking to another guard, who only amplified the annoying sound.

The distorted voice of one guard sighs. "Still, why was the princess in such an odd place..? I could've sworn we were pursuing the readings of an intruder.."

"It doesn't matter now." The other one scoffs, clearly proud and full of himself. "We must take her back to King Kamoshida!"

Mona leaves to check on what's going on, leaving to a small discussion amongst the three about how mysterious things were, as well as a scolding for Ryuji, considering he completely forgot to use the cat's code name, and even forgot his own, despite making it up himself. They all familiarise him with the names once more, and he nods seriously as though he'd definitely remember them next time, just as Mona runs back in, panting with a worried expression on his face.

"This is bad!" He cries, eyes full of worry. "Your friend.. Lady Ann! She's been taken by the Shadows!"

* * *

IM REALLY HYPED FOR IT THO... no lies.  
the teaser vid loooked sooo good even tho  
it was just animated versions of the artbook cover

it looked cool, ok?  
anyway every time i write a chapter of this fic  
my anxiety goes thru the roof LMAOO

im always rlly worried abt quality and other stuff ;;  
every time i see a typo or a misspell in the past chapters  
when i reread them after posting i become overwhelmed  
with the feeling of "well, i guess i'll go kill myself"

its why im always so glad nobody ever comments on it;;;

shadowash- i rlly like it too.. its simple, but it goes with her general theme,  
and it can be sort of a callback to how teddie called himself 'her knight'  
kotone is trying her best /sobbing/

i hope y'all liked !  
see u in the next one


	5. flames

PERSONA 3 DANCING MOON NIGHT!

* * *

As those words leave Mona's lips, shock rushes over the taller three, who understandably don't believe a word that the little cat says. They had let the blonde girl back out of the Palace's dimension bending walls, to keep her safe from the monsters that lurked inside. And Knight knew for a fact that the other girl would've fought to come back along, but she didn't think it would go this far.

"Wait, what?!" Skull cries, disbelief filling every inch of his voice. "But we sent her home earlier!"

The black cat crosses his arms and huffs at the way he isn't trusted, and begins to speak his hypothesis. "If Lady Ann does indeed have the app, it could be possible."

"Oh no.."

"Don't tell me it got put on hers just like mine..!?" He kicks the air, the sound of air breaking with his movement filling the silence. His frustration was evident, though not one of them could tell what his anger was directed at. "Dammit! We let her out for her own safety, and she just came back in by herself!"

Fiddling with her axe's handle, she sighs. "Then we ain't got the time t'be takin' a break."

"Knight is right." Joker agrees quickly, his own hand reaching for the large machete at his waist. "We have to go and rescue her."

The four leave the safe room without much arguing, following the little shadow that Mona's cartoonish body created on the ground. They make their way down the long hallways, and into a dining room-like space, where Takamaki Ann's voice echoed amongst the empty walls, fear filling her tone as she begged to know what was going on, confused as to whether she was participating in some sort of filming.

A Shadow stands in their way, and Joker speeds up ahead and cuts the head off of it's armoured form, causing it to explode into two smaller Shadows– both rather cute looking Jack'o'Lanterns. They ride their little brooms, and she swears she's seen something similar looking in the form of a plush doll at Kotone-san's house. Whatever it was, right now, it was an enemy standing in their paths, stopping them from saving a civilian.

She activates the boosters on her axe, and with the flames spouting from it, the wings on her back begin to become the two gigantic blades that belong to her weapon. She grips the handle tight, sliding forward on her hoof-like feet, the metal scrapping against the concrete floors. Briefly, briefly, she wonders when she lost her school shoes, lamenting over the fact she'll have to get a new pair, but it's not the time to be thinking about that stuff.

"I'll go first!" Her voice is quick and fast as she speeds forward, slamming the blades into one of the Shadows, knocking them back like a ball and a baseball bat. She doesn't give them time to recover, and the gears inside her body flare up as she activates her in-built Evoker, her Papillon Heart burning in her chest. The familiar glimmer of blue surrounds her body, and she hears that sound.

Glass shatters, and winds of mystic energy kick up. "Let's go, Ariadne!"

Her Persona appears, hair the same shade as her own fluttering high into the air above her as the manifestation descends. It resembled it's summoner greatly, both being silvery mechanical maidens with red eyes. The yarn made of psychic power forms from metal fingertips, maze like as it snakes its way around the two Shadows, tying them together as she backs off.

"Next!"

Mona steps forward, summoning his top-heavy Persona Zorro, who waves it's sword in a dance-like manner as it creates winds, turbulent as they rip and destroy the two monsters in front of him. Their bodies explode into ribbons of liquid-like red and black, drooling into gaps in the flooring as they wheeze their final breathes. The two combined drop only a single item of some sort, which their leader wanders forward to pick up, slipping it into his pocket without much else to say.

Meanwhile, Skull whistles, clearly impressed. "Man, Knight, you weren't kiddin' when you said you didn't need protectin'."

"Well, y'know..!" She laughs. "I've been doin' this longer than you two."

In fact, she's probably been battling longer than they've been alive. It would definitely depend on their birth dates, which she didn't know, but if they were second years, then there was a good chance she'd been created before they'd even taken their first breathes.

Once they dispatch of another pair of Shadows, flowers growing out of their sprout-like heads, they continue to head on, determined beyond words. She'd already let one civilian hit critical condition because of these monsters, she can't have another possibly dying here today. She was going to definitely save her.

* * *

Her wrists hurt, chained to a X-shaped cross the way she was. Just in general, everything about this pose and the weird thing she was up against was seriously bothering her, and the men in armour pointing swords didn't exactly help.

"What's this about!?" She screams, struggling against her restraints more and more the longer she's trapped. "Seriously, I'm gonna call the cops!"

Neither react to the words she yells, only furthering the fear she felt. Why didn't they feel an inch of fear at that sort of thing?! They didn't move, they didn't squeak a word.. They just aimed their blades for her, uncaring as to what happens to her flesh.

An all too familiar voice fills the air. "So, this is the intruder."

"Kamoshida!?" Honest-to-goodness, she can't believe her eyes. The school's PE couch waltz up to her in ugly slippers and a robe, a crown resting atop his god-awful mess of a hairstyle. And pacing up beside him, in ridiculously high, and violently coloured, heels is a girl bearing Ann's own face. She wears a bikini– or is it one of those ribbon lingerie sets? She can't tell, and she doesn't want to know– and a pair of black cat ears atop her head.

And at the sight, she can't help but exclaim out loud, "Who's _that_!?"

The second those words leave her lips, she shakes her head quickly, dismissing the last thing she said as fast as she can. Compared to her current situation, whoever was the doppelganger didn't matter to her.

"More importantly, what is this place!? Why's the school turned into something like this!?"

She begs and begs for answers, and a snarl forms on the man's face, his eerily glowing eyes scornful as they stared at her. Disgust fills her at just his expression, and the tone, filled with spite, only makes her feel sicker.

"I can't believe you mistook _my_ Ann for someone like her." He breaks into wild laughter, a certain perverse nature underlying that makes every inch of her skin crawl. Once he stops laughing, his shoulders still shaking a little with dry laughs, he turns to her. "Are you afraid?"

Goosebumps tingle up her spine. "What is that outfit..?! Have you lost your mind!?"

"I do as I please here." He states it so plainly, so cleanly, like it should be common knowledge. "After all, this is my castle.. The _world_ of my desires."

"What the–!?" She looks around more and more, taking in her surroundings more as a possible location fills her mind, and only sends more dread into the pit of her stomach. "Wait.. Is this some red-light district!?"

He scoffs. "What a lively slave."

"This isn't funny! Enough of the bullshit, Kamoshida!"

As the swear leaves her lips, he clicks his tongue, eyes narrowing dangerously at her. Finally, he turns around, to his companion, and raises an almost curious eyebrow, asking the doppelganger a question.

"The girl's decided to tell me off." The girl bearing her face swings her arms as she's approached. "What do you think of that?"

Though the girl spoke with an exaggerated style, Ann could tell that it was her voice. "Talking back is, like.. totally unforgivable.."

"In that case.." Kamoshida turns back to the prisoner. "She should be executed."

A fearful gasp leaves her lips as another knight enters the room, this one holding a sword at least twice his own size, and coloured with a distinctive bronze. Her eyes can't focus on the actual colour of the blade, rather, on the stains that cover it's metal sheen, stains she didn't want to know the stories behind, nor what they actually were. The PE coach, the king of his castle, gestures exaggeratedly under his chin in thought.

"Now then, how should I play with you?" He murmurs, thoughtfully wandering through his mind for ideas. "Shall I tear you into little pieces?"

She's unable to yell, or scream anymore, only able to whisper out her shock and disbelief, shaking her head back and forth with terror filling her to the very brim. She had thought this was all some sort of elaborate television set, that this was a joke of some kind, but now, she's begging that it's all just a dream.

The door opens up, and four figures enter in, unable to believe the sight that they see waiting for them. All around the door are the bright magenta figures of young girls, all wearing volleyball shorts and quite literally nothing else. Their faces, and the rest of their bodies are impossible to make out, but the message was clear, and Knight clenches her fists tighter and tighter, more and more furious.

Skull breathes out his own anger. "This is fucked up.. Is this what he thinks of the girls on the volleyball team..?"

"Hey, that's..!" At Mona's gesturing over to the other side of the room, the four break through the crowd of girls, running over to the execution sight where Takamaki, Kamoshida and the fake Ann all stand, surrounded by knights ready to kill on orders.

Three different voices scream her name, and briefly, the blonde looks up in surprise, a hopeful glimmer in her blue eyes.

And the man only groans. "Just when I was about to start enjoying myself.."

"What's the deal with this guy!?" She screams at the newcomers, the fight to struggle against her restraints stronger than ever, a new fire to keep living alight with a spark of hope in front of her.

Gripping his iron-bar tight, Skull steps forward towards the king. "You little..!"

".. How many times are you gonna come back?" He asks, filled with malice as he quite literally snarls at them, his voice taking on a monstrous edge as he turns back to his prisoner. "I bet you're just like those thieves. You came because you're pissed at me, huh? But, _ah_.. I forget that chick's name, but it's your fault she jumped you know."

At those words, Knight clenches her fists tighter as Ann tries to process what was just said to her. Her eyes widen as he begins to explain exactly what he means, and the bile rises in her throat.

"You were so _reluctant_ to throw yourself on me that I had her take your place."

Ann screams. "You bastard!"

The knights approach to finally gouge the girl's internal organs out and end her miserable existence, and the two lighter-haired members of the thievery group run forward, stopped in their place by Kamoshida's words as he says only a few things. That he'll kill her if they move another step. Skull curses and she briefly begins to run over possibilities in her mind, unsure of what to do anymore. It was clear he was already planning to kill Ann, so if they moved, it wouldn't matter.. but risking that much when she's unsure of how fast she can get to saving the girl?

She can't do it.  
Not with the group she's with.

He tells them all to sit back and enjoy the show, and they clutch their weapons tight, furious at themselves for being unable to do a single thing. His lips pucker up excitedly, his cheeks flushing with a gross shade of red as he says something horrifying.

"Maybe I'll start with her clothes.."

The fake Ann giggles. "You're such a perv!"

The blond turn's his gaze to all his friends, a desperation she can't understand in the brown-eyes behind his mask.

"H-Hey, what're we gonna do!?" None of them are able to respond in time as the knight with the large broadsword comes closer and closer, and he screams out her name. "Takamaki!"

She shakes her head, unable to discern his voice from the white noise in her ears. She can't stop thinking. Maybe this, what's happening to her right now? Maybe it's a punishment for what happened to Shiho. Her face falls lower and lower, despair filling her eyes, and she swears she can hear the damn pervert's voice ring out as well, but she's uncaring for whatever he's saying. She begs for forgiveness from her dear friend, who lies in hospital, unsure if she'll ever awaken again.

The only voice she can hear is the voice of Kurusu-kun. "You're just going to listen?"

She snaps out of it at that phrase, shaking her head in disapproval at her own actions. How dare she just give in like this.. Letting this utter garbage toy with her.. It's laughable, and that's exactly what she does.

"You're right.. What was I thinking?!" He opens his mouth to speak his shitty words once more, and she glares. "Shut up! I've had enough of this! You've pissed me off, you son of a bitch!"

As she screams at him, feeling a relief to finally get her true feelings out, another voice rings in her ears.

 **" _My_.. It's taken far too long."** She flinches in pain as her mind pounds, the stranger's voice echoing in her mind with a violence she can't describe. It eggs her on, questions her motives, approaches her with new thoughts. **"Tell me.. _Who_ is going to avenge her if _you_ don't? Forgiving him was never an option.. Such is the scream of the other you that dwells within.. I am thou, thou art I.. We can finally forge a contract.."**

The pain that destroyed her body, causing tears to stream down her cheeks finally stops, and she nods her head. "I hear you.. Carmen."

Lifting her head up, flames surround her face, a mask appearing on her face. It was cat-shaped, and a bright carmine red.

"You're right. No more holding back..!"

The other her, Carmen, laughs softly. **"There you go.. Nothing can be solved by restraining yourself."**

The fire fills her with an unbelievable power, the power to break her restraints completely, and Ann reaches for her mask, hearing another small laugh from the stranger in her mind.

 **"Understand? Then I'll gladly lend you my strength."** She rips the mask off entirely, blood splattering across the floor as she screeches in pain, surrounded by a blinding light of blue as Carmen manifests herself, her beautiful dress and rippling curls drawing all's attention.

Ann too, finds herself wearing something new, something different, though she couldn't care less for it. Instead, she shoots a glare down to the Shadows, running for them as fast as she can and kicking her leg high, knocking a sword out of one's hands. She takes the sword quickly, and runs towards the fake her, the Princess, slashing down the cognition's body and destroying it without second thoughts.

Sweat dribbles down the forehead of Kamoshida, and she turns to him. "You know what? I'm not some cheap girl you can toy with.. you scumbag."

"Bitch."

She ignores his words, and the four take steps up behind her. "You stole everything from Shiho.. You destroyed her.. Now it's your turn! I will rob you of _everything_!"

As she points forward roughly, yelling her passionate truths, the knights growl at her and explode into piles of goop, forming to create on, giant Shadow in the shape of a Minotaur. They scream about how much they've had enough of her and her insolence, and she only laughs.

"No, I've had enough of you." She grins, ear to ear. "No one's gonna stop me now! Let's go, Carmen!"

At her command, the Persona spews fire, which burns up the carpets and drapes without little care. The Shadow screeches and cries in pain as it's torn up by flames, powerful fires that only drag it further and further into the pits of hell. Not needing a single command, they all attack while Carmen and Ann have the monster pinned down with her new found abilities, though she hears Joker click his tongue in frustration as the blades of their weapons do little damage when compared to her blaze.

They all attack while it's down, in a formation she's very much used to, albeit usually not executed with such a flair for dramatics. She follows along, playing with to their childish game of phantom thievery while collecting the information she needs, though she wouldn't lie about the fact she's definitely taken a liking to this group. They're loudmouthed, argumentative, and ridiculous.

And she loves it.

They're fun, vibrant, and so very different from the style of the Shadow Operatives.

Ann lifts her hands high in the air, and commands for her Persona. "Dance, Carmen!"

The manifestation of her innermost self complies, twirling her extravagant dress to kick up more of the fires, crushing the Shadow underneath her metaphorical heels. For a new summon, she was powerful. They all far exceeded expectations, though as the fight begins to draw to it's close, she can tell that Ann is on her last ropes, tired beyond belief.

First summons are always the hardest, after all.

The Shadow explodes into ribbons of goop, pooling up around the Shadow Kamoshida's feet. And he says the first, and only, thing on his mind, as crude and vile as the rest of the words he spews.

"Oh, shit..!"

He runs off, and Ann collapses to her feet in attempt to chase after him. "Wait..!"

Knight runs to her side, and instinctively helps the girl up off her feet, her weight like feathers underneath her steel joints. The girl murmurs small words of gratitude underneath her breath, in between heavy pants, but it was clear she wanted to follow the man for her revenge.

"Give it up." She scolds, red eyes narrowed. "First time's always the most tirin'."

The new Persona-user curses, and Skull speeks up. "Why'd you come here, man!? And more importantly, how!?"

"Hey! Is that how you speak to a woman!?" Mona scolds the boy with clear contempt, and turns his chivalrous gaze to the two girls. "Are you alright, Lady Ann!?"

She turns to him, raising her eyebrow. "..Lady Ann..?"

The blonde hairs furrow for a moment, and she shakes her head, as though the last thing she said didn't matter when compared to the next thing on her mind. Although curious, she's a little frightened, as she gestures for the black.. 'cat'.

"Wait, what is this thing? Is it alive..?" She leans towards it a little with Knight's help. "How can it talk? And.. where in the world are we!?"

Mona waves his hands, clearly worried. "J-Just calm down. Everything's going to be okay; don't worry."

"How am I supposed to calm down!?" She yells, letting go of the metal arms she'd been caught by and instead using the large and round head of their smallest companion to help herself back onto her feet. As she finally stands, she takes notice of the new clothes she's wearing. "H-Huh!? Why am I dressed like this!? When did I––"

She pats herself down, her cheeks turning brighter and brighter shades of red the more she analyses her outfit, before she finally grips her hands tight over her chest, clad in skin-tight leather, and falls to her knees, trying to hide every inch of her body.

"Ugh, what's with this!?"

Joker kneels down, and looks her dead in the eyes. "Calm down."

"How can you expect me to be calm!?" Screaming at the top of her lungs, she turns to Knight. "W-Why the heck are you a robot?!"

Nobody's quite sure how to handle the teenage girl and her current little meltdown over everything that's happened, since the adrenaline of battle's died down and the passion for her goal had faded off back into her mind, replaced by nothing but confusion and embarrassment.

Mona shakes his head. "Well, I'm stumped.. A search party will probably be coming for us soon. There's no time to explain. We don't have a choice, let's just retreat for now!"

"We were just gettin' fired up, and you just had to go and get in the way.." Mumbles the blond boy under his breath, earning him a sharp glare from the silver haired girl. He flinches slightly under the look, it's piercing aura only made scarier by the distinct shade and rings in her eyes. He growls, and wanders towards Ann, roughly reaching out to her. "Rgh.. fine.. Here.. give me your arm. Joker, you take the other side."

Labrys decides to not mention the fact she could have easily carried Ann out of the Palace, instead watching as the two boys lopsidedly lift her all the way to the exit and out of the monstrous haven of distorted desires. The world bends and whirls around her, and she can only think about what an eventful day she's had.

School was really, really fun.

* * *

The world around them was dark, moonlight shimmering down on Labrys's pale skin, setting her hair aglow with it's natural lustre. They all stand around an old telephone booth, one that hardly saw usage anymore, and Ryuji wanders back with four drinks in his arms, juggling them almost expertly.

..She didn't think he'd buy her one, too.

Which was going to be awkward, considering she doesn't eat.. or drink..

Once they'd left the distortion, her own illusion had reformed, her body no longer showing as a combination of metal and technology, nor was her axe situated behind her back as a pair of false wings. No, they saw a regular human girl, with regular flesh and skin. Which she took great relief out of, considering how big loudmouths these kids were, the fact a robot was standing in the middle of Tokyo would definitely draw attention thanks to them.

He holds three of the drinks out, putting his own on a chair nearby. "Which one you want?"

"Whichever's not carbonated." Ann responds back quickly, and the boy turns to all three of the drinks in his hands, sweat dribbling down his forehead as a realisation dawns upon him.

"Uh.." He turns to her, shrugging his shoulders. "They all are, actually."

She sighs. "Then.."

Reaching out, she grabs for a richly coloured drink, and Akira takes the other one, what appears to be a melon soda. Labrys gets the final drink of the bunch, a seasonal special sakura flavoured soda. She takes it in her hands, admiring the pretty pink glow it took, but she decides to take it back to the headquarters with her to share with the others.

"Here ya go."

Piping up from Kurusu's school bag is Morgana, poking his little head out. "What about me?"

"Huh?" The blond boy scoffs, leaning backwards to take a glimpse at the cat relaxing in the tall boy's bag. "But you're a cat."

Ann giggles softly, and Morgana pulls himself out of the zipper and onto the black-haired teen's shoulder, so he can get a better look at the group. "..Have you calmed down, Lady Ann?"

"Um.." She turns to him, pondering for a moment. "Morgana, right? ..I really am talking to a cat.. This feels so strange.. Oh, sorry! You're not a cat, right?"

"It's only natural you're confused. Demanding that you'd understand all of this right after what you went through is asking too much."

She shakes her head, sighing. "Honestly, I still can't believe what happened.. And that power.. my Persona.."

"It's the will of your rebellion, Lady Ann. With it, you'll be able to fight in that other world."

"So, if what you told me is true, we can make Kamoshida have a change of heart, right?" She pauses to take a small sip out of her drink, a pink lipstick stain on the rim of the bottle. "Is it really possible..? Can we actually force him to confess his crimes?"

Ryuji crosses his arms. "The volleyball team's keepin' quiet about this, while teachers and parents turn a blind eye. If guys like us try and complain, they're just gonna shoot us down. Goin' all in on this plan is the only choice we got."

"Then let me help too." Her resolve is powerful, the determination shining in her sky-coloured irises. "I want to make him pay for what happened to Shiho. He just keeps going like nothing happened, even after what he did to her.. I'll never forgive him."

He raises a hand, disbelief in his eyes. "Wait, did you just say, 'let me help'? You mean, you want us to take you _along_?"

"Don't act like I'm going to drag you down!" She scolds, and she turns to Labrys. "If Arisato can join you guys, I can too. After all, weren't you watching? I can fight too."

The two boys begin to mumble amongst themselves, questioning it it, while both girls stare on with daggers for eyes. She can feel the combined pressure of their words working on them, as Kurusu states that Ann'll be a good help, and Morgana agrees with him without a second beat.

She smiles, but quickly glares. "Even if you said no, I'd just go in alone. And I can always take Arisato with me! We can take care of him without you guys."

"Oh right, she can go by herself.. I guess it'd be more dangerous turnin' her down.." Ryuji leans his head back and groans loudly. "Rgh, fine.."

She pumps her fist confidently. "Then it's decided! Well, I hope we get along! I promise, I'm going to make Kamoshida atone for what he did.. Not just for Shiho's sake, but for everything he's done. I wont let any more people _suffer_ because of him. I'll do whatever it takes!"

The three nod in agreement, and Labrys quietly tries checking her phone, flinching as it vibrates and goes off multiple times, a telling sign of what's about to happen. They all look at her in shock as she squeaks, nearly dropping the flip-phone as she tries to open it up and check just what the heck's making it go wild. On the homes screen alone is a bunch of little pop ups, telling her exactly what she's missed in the.. god knows how long they've been inside the Palace.

 _Missed Calls._  
 _Arisato Kotone (5)._  
 _Aigis (4)._  
 _Kirijo Mitsuru (2)._  
 _Sanada Akihiko (2)._

She flinches. They're probably worried sick about her.

"Your family?" Asks Ann, and she quickly snaps her phone shut, nodding her head. "Oh right, we don't have each other's info.. How're you gonna tell me when you're going back in? Give me your number and chat ID."

The three all pull out their own phones, three smart phones compared to her little flip-phone. She can't help but feel a little self conscious as they all exchange numbers and IDs for some sort of chatting app, one she's unsure of whether she'll even be able to get ahold of on her outdated mobile. They finish their little exchange, and Ann smiles brightly at the three.

"I'll be counting on you, then." She leans over the taller boy's shoulder. "Same goes for you, Morgana!"

She swears he's purring. "The pleasure is all mine, Lady Ann."

Ann leaves, and Labrys quickly runs off after her phone goes off once more, buzzing loudly with yet another call. She waves goodbye to her three new companions, and begins to make her way through the bustling streets of Tokyo, heading for the Setagaya district where both her guardians currently lived. Once she was there, she'd probably have to crash for the night and let them go over the information by hearsay, considering how late it was currently, they wouldn't be able to drive her all the way back to the headquarters.

She can't help but gain a little skip in her step–– her life is getting funner with each day, despite the scum that coats the world.

* * *

HEY SO..  
i have a confession to make?  
i genuinely, 100% started crying when i saw my boy, the best bro,  
the ace detective junpei iori rendered in those incredible hd graphics

god i love my boys.. i hope we get to see akihiko soon..  
please dont fuck him up atlus,,, please..

ALSO. please please please bring femc! shes perfect for the dancing game

ANYWAY, with this, we put a little bow on the ann arc!  
i spent.. 3 chapters on one day.. im so sorry LMAO

so, by this point in the story, akira hasnt started a confidant for labrys!  
that'll.. happen later in the story, but im sure you all might be able to tell what arcana  
her confidant will be represented by;;

after kamoshida's arc is wrapped up,  
we'll be diverting from the main p5 story for a while to follow the proper plot of the p3 cast!  
more of them will be introduced, i promise. for now, we're just using this arc as a sort of..  
introduction for the new things for our old friends.

i hope i dont disappoint once we hit that part of the story!

ANYWAY.. i really like ann so far! im not incredibly far in game, but shes really enjoyable.  
im using a lets play to get the story perfect for this fic,  
so i dont have to write while playing like i did with MOY, hah..

shadowash- its our boi.. and his dog

I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THIS ONE!  
sorry its late im a lazy ho and all the persona announcements have been makin me go WILD

see u guys next chapter!


	6. danger

cries into my damn hands

* * *

" _Labrys_!"

She cringes inwardly as the apartment door swings open, and Kotone-san yells at her from the entrance in a mixture of shock and anger. The woman was clutching her phone tight, her eyebrows knit together and furrowed with clear distress, and those normally gentle eyes were narrowed and dangerous, as though she were ready to battle against an enemy.

The robot laughs, weakly. "..Hi.. Kotone-san.."

"Don't you give me that!" She scolds, taking the mech by the wrist and dragging her into the home. "Do you know how worried we all were!? Mitsuru-san thought you might've gone rogue again, or someone might've hacked your systems again! She has practically everyone out searching for you!"

A flinch at those words. Was her loyalty so easily misplaced, so easily forgotten? Her face falls and her expression darkens, and in response to this the darker haired woman smacks her open palm on the small of the robot's back, muttering something in pain as flesh comes into contact with steel. Labrys turns, confused, and she's met with a smile, and eyes that know more than her voice speaks.

"What's with that face? We were all worried, is all." The human leaves the entrance hallway first, wandering into the living room with a hand calling for the mechanical teenager to follow along. She sits down on the lounge as her host reaches for her smartphone, scrolling through the list of numbers she needs to call. "Come on, let's inform everyone that you're here and you can tell us why you were gone for so long."

She's briefly grateful that Kotone is so easygoing and forgiving, though she knows that she's only getting off with a harsh word while her 'sister' and Mitsuru weren't in the picture. Kicking her legs back and forth as she scanned the entire room, curiosity overwhelming as her gaze falls over everything from photo frames to a basket filled with balls of yarn. A laptop sits on top of a table, accompanied by a coaster, rings of coffee stains showing how much it's been used.

She's fascinated.

"Ah," Looking around, she nearly forgot. "Kotone-san, why're y'still here?"

The woman hangs up the call she had just finished, and turns back. "I was waiting for Fuuka. We were going to use her Persona to find you."

"Oh.. I musta been such a bother to everyone.."

"It's fine, Labrys." Heart-shaped lips purse into a kind grin. "Just tell us what was so important that you had to disappear like that."

* * *

Kotone juggles two cups of black coffee in her hands, placing one down by Akihiko, who quietly thanks her as he leans back into the chair as he listened intently to Labrys's words, and the other by Mitsuru, who also thanks her with a small smile and nod of her head. She returns to the kitchen to pick up the next two cups, one filled with hot chocolate and the other with slightly milky coffee.

One of the newcomers, Iori Junpei, takes the mug from her hands, drinking a small amount before squawking out his words. "Holy _shit_ , the new Persona-users sound wild!"

"Junpei!" The other newcomer, Takeba Yukari, slams her elbow into his side, causing his mug-filled hand to shake dangerously, barely able to stabilise it before it spilled liquid all over the carpeted floors. "But, he isn't wrong.. They're definitely.. different. And seriously, a ' _will of rebellion_ '? What's that supposed to mean?"

The woman returns with two more cups, filled with sweet tea, for herself and Yamagishi Fuuka, who was busy tending to the memory banks of the silver-haired robot, trying to get the images and video to clear up properly on her laptop.

Fiddling with a strand of her hair, the mechanical girl shrugs. "I though' maybe it mighta just needed t'be a strong will of anythin'? Not just rebellion.. I could be wrong, though.."

Wine curls are pushed over one shoulder, a long leg crossed over the other as the Kirijo Group's current head began to think over it, stroking the porcelain of the mug with her long nails. She turns her dark gaze from one mechanical maiden to the other, short blonde hair bouncing as attention is turned to her.

"A strong will, huh..?" Aigis, the youngest generation of the Anti-Shadow robots, tilts her head in brief confusion at the way she's analysed by her employer and long-time friend, though she never gets a chance to question why she was staring like that.

A small smile forms on Kotone's face, as she slips down beside her two seniors. "Got something in mind, Mitsuru-san?"

"Nothing too big. Just a hypothesis." Eyes turn to the leader. "I do agree with Labrys, however. I don't think it's just the vengeful emotions of teenage rebellion that's allowing them to take on the masks of phantom thieves inside those 'Palaces'. Perhaps it has something to do with the reason the latent Persona ability manifests itself. If their's is 'rebellion', then ours would most likely be.."

A thought of pondering wanders through everyone's minds, trying to figure out the answer. Everyone had a slightly different answer, after all.  
Whether it was to get stronger, to find out the truth, to escape.. Their powers taking shape didn't have much in common.

..At first glance.

Snapping her fingers, the auburn haired woman answers. "The will to protect, whether it was ourselves, others, or the future."

"Exactly." Mitsuru smiles. "In the beginning, what first awakened our abilities were all mismatched. But when they evolved into their current forms, we all had similar reasons. To face the future, to continue fighting on, to keep it safe. To live to see another spring. Of course, depending on the situation, that may also be a form of rebellion."

Kotone laughs. "A strong will to protect, huh? It kinda suits us all!"

"So, their Personas took the form of clothing representin' their strong wills to keep them safe during their trips in the Palaces. Rebellion formed a phantom thievery group, so I wonder what we'd all be..?" Labrys absorbs the new information, soaking it up like a sponge, and relays her own thoughts. "..I kinda hoped we wouldn't a'needed so many kids involved.."

"Labrys?"

"Sister?"

The robot clenches her fists tight, the fabric of her skirt bunching up between her metal fingers, and she looks up at them with determined, strong eyes. They burn with a powerful fire, and she stares them all in the eyes.

"Let me fight with 'em on this issue. Not just cuz I wanna protect 'em, but because I want to get back at that Kamoshida rat, too. After that, I'll keep an eye on them, make sure they don't do anythin' crazy." She sighs. "Though, knowing our track record with other Persona-users, we mightn't get a choice on whether or not they stick their noses in anything.."

Akihiko crosses his arms. "I think it's worth keeping you around them. If the pattern keeps up, things'll just _happen_ around those kids. You might be able to get more information by staying with them."

A brief murmur of agreement ruptures around the group, and the silver-haired man runs a hand through his hair, ruffling short locks with frustration as he furrows his brows.

"I'm still struggling to figure out why, or rather, _how_ everything that was happening at that school was so well kept under wraps. At work, we were all told to stop looking into the school and to check the girl's home life, even though there's no way we could've picked up enough information in a few hours to completely rule the school out of the causes for her attempted suicide."

The mechanical maiden bites on her lip. "And now we know it was that damned teacher."

"Someone's trying to cover it up..?" Mitsuru murmurs, raising her eyebrow curiously.

Kotone clicks her tongue. "I met the girl's mother today. I didn't even need to step in the door to know how much she loved and cared for her daughter. The idea that someone could even dare think about accusing that sort of thing on that woman.."

Nails tapping on the rim of her cup, the redhead purses her lipstick coated lips. "I can't say I'm a fan of continuing to let those children endanger themselves, but we don't have a choice right now.. Labrys, if anything gets out of hand, to a point that you can't take care of it by yourself, make sure you try contacting us. Take one of the radios with you, just in case."

The atmosphere, though still thick and heavy with theories as to what's going on in the Tokyo area, lightens up only briefly as Labrys twiddles her red thumbs, diverting her gaze away from both humans and her fellow robot.

"Uh.. and another reason I have for.. wantin' to help 'em is.." Her face flushes, acutely aware of her surroundings and the piercing gazes that turn onto her person. "..I.. uh, might be gettin' expelled if we don't reshape Kamoshida's heart."

Junpei roars with laughter, and the room is set on fire with questions as to how the stern, rule-following, strict and studious Labrys was able to rope herself into that incident a day after enrolling.

* * *

Arisato Kotone flops back onto the bed she shared with her long-time boyfriend and fiance, chest rising and falling with a deep sigh, her body relaxing after a day busy beyond her wildest beliefs. A dark grey shirt clings onto her feminine figure, tracing her curves neatly. She can smell the distinctly calming fragrance of lavender on the sheets beneath her; lulling her into the comfort of sleep.

"You alright?" She turns her carmine gaze to the voice, the gentle tone belonging to Akihiko, who sits by her side on the plush mattress. "You've looked a little out of it since we finished up the meeting."

His hand, calloused and bare of his usual gloves, brushes strands of her bangs away from her forehead. "Do you think we'll be able to figure out what's going on around here and what the Shadows have to do with it before those kids get too tied into it?"

He's silent for just a moment, but it's enough to answer her question. Her expression falls, lower lip wobbling a little as concern fills her eyes. She's just so worried, so concerned for the safety of the people Labrys had met. The things they were involving themselves in would force them to mature, to rid themselves of childish natures in order to continue the fight they'd steeled themselves to.

"I wish we were able to keep those kids from all the dangers that the life of Personas and fighting Shadows brings.."

She knows that if they tried stopping them, they'd only be met with resistance. She knows, but it still makes her worried.

The place they were investigating, throwing themselves into, was born of negativity, born of corruption. It was dangerous, and she's not sure if those children quite understand that. And she's seen enough people die from this lifestyle, enough blood of teenagers split. And she's had enough of it.

His voice is filled with resolve. "We'll just have to work hard to solve the case."

"...Okay." She smiles up at him, feeling just a little better. Taking a deep breath, she lifts herself off her back and leans forward onto her hands, looking at the taller man with sleepy eyes, yet they're still shimmering with a certain brightness. "We should find a nice place to eat at once this is all over! A celebration is key, after all."

* * *

The morning arrived and went in a flash, the class zooming by with little learning actually done, thanks to the gossip of the recent incident on the air. It was being treated like some sort of soap opera, with people who wouldn't have turned to look the victim's way twice if she hadn't tried to kill herself the day before. Now, they were all whispering about it like it was the freshest kill for a clan of wild dogs, eating up every little detail of the drama.

Students around her gossip as the school bell went off, giving off basic information about the time to the busy class, all whispering everything from half-truths to full lies, a few even going into detail about how the police suspected abuse at home. Labrys can't help but wonder how they figured that out.

Her phone buzzes, and she pulls it out, noticing she'd been added to a group chat on that messaging app she'd downloaded yesterday.

 _'hey, we're meeting up at our hideout after school, right?'_

She nearly flinches when a bubble pops up, Sakamoto's face beside it, clearly to inform her of who sent the message. His face was contorted into a wide grin, the background appearing to be his bedroom. The lack of capitalisation in his message bothers her, but she decides to read over it as another message pops up.

 _'Don't text now. We're in class.'_

That was Takamaki Ann, as made evident by her own profile picture. A pretty photo of her winking at the camera, lips coated in shimmery lip-gloss and cheeks flushed with a pink glow.

 _'you mean ur actually listening to all this crap?'_

 _'Yeah, but none of it is really sticking today...'_ She can almost imagine the sigh.

 _'right? anyway, hideout after school?'_

She fiddles to start writing up a message, but she's beaten to the punch by Ann. _'Where exactly is this hideout?'_

 _'the school roof.'_

Labrys would've choked on air, if she needed it. _'Wait, we can still go up there?'_

 _'yea, i'll let u in. welp, i'll be waiting. just come on up once school is over.'_

Another message pops up on the screen, a photo of black hair and large glasses. Kurusu. _'gotcha'_

The lack of.. anything in that message almost impresses her. It spoke wonders of the boy, quiet and seemingly meek in his usual life around the school, despite the rumours, and yet flamboyant with a skill for theatrics inside the Palace. This? It spoke a thousand words about the boy, despite it's lacklustre.. everything.

Plain and simple. That was what sort of person Kurusu Akira seemed to be.

 _'Don't skip class.'_ She writes, hitting the send button. She takes great fascination in how unlike the other bubbles, her's was coloured bright white. Maybe to help see what you had sent versus what the others had sent? It looked kinda cool, nonetheless.

 _'i cant believe ur trying to tell me to listen to this shitshow after what happened, arisato.'_

 _'She's right, though.'_

 _'anyway, im gonna fine you all if ur late!'_ His text is followed by a string of strange, tiny images of little faces.

She puts her phone away as the teacher slams the duster against the chalkboard, catching every person in the class's attention to his listen. Clearly, he wasn't impressed by how they all ignored him for their own personal conversations.

A sigh leaves her lips, and she pulls her books out, mechanical pencil spinning around her fingers.

* * *

They all sit around on a bunch of old, abandoned desks on the rooftop, clearly set up in a way that they were as close as possible, as well as impeccably squished against a ginormous air vent. Morgana cleans his paws absentmindedly, and she wonders again how he got into the school grounds, and Ryuji calls the meeting together.

"Looks like we're all here." He seemingly does a head count once more, and nods his head proudly once he counts all five. "Mkay, let's get goin'!"

Morgana flicks his tail. "Hold up. It's still too early for us to head to the Palace."

"But why? Don't we just gotta steal that Treasure thing?"

"Don't underestimate the dangers of that place." The cat growls a little, and Labrys almost thanks god. These kids had no idea how dangerous the things they were getting into truly were, so she was glad that at least one of them had a little sense. "We need to prepare."

Sakamoto raises one of his short brows. "Ain't that Persona shit we got enough to deal with it?"

"That's exactly what I mean when I say don't underestimate it." He sighs, shaking his furry head side to side. "You'll die if you mess up in there."

She cuts in. "Morgana's right. We'll end up getting ourselves killed if we're not properly prepared for the fight. We got lucky with small fries this time, but what if we encounter something really dangerous? We won't have another person able to awaken to their new powers to save us."

No, they wont have that. They'd probably have a group of skilled veteran Persona-users come to their rescue, which would definitely ruin the whole.. infiltration thing she's trying to play here.

Proudly, the white tip of the cat's tail curls. "I'm glad one of you agrees with me. So, we need to prepare before we head in."

"But.." Ann begins, looking at the two with confused eyes. "How exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"I'm glad you asked, Lady Ann." His chest puffs out, and Labrys briefly wonders how much the cat's enjoying his newfound attention. "First, we'll need to find better equipment for all of you."

Her body tenses a little; the idea of her weapon being taken away from her in exchange for something 'better' wasn't enjoyable. After all, her axe was specially built, made only for her. Her regulatory systems weren't right for firearms, so the scientists gave her a large battle axe and winch arms. There literally wasn't any weapon on earth better suited for her than her axe.

Sakamoto speaks up. "You talkin' about weapons? I know a kick-ass place!"

"In that case, you can handle that side of things." The blond boy pumps his fists excitedly, and Morgana continues on, ignoring the display of enthusiasm. "The only other thing would be stocking up on medicine. Fatigue is unavoidable in a Palace.."

Takamaki raises a neat brow. "And where can we get medicine?"

"Don't worry, I know just the place. I hope you look forward to it, Lady Ann!" The girl hums, a little confused, but the cat never gives any of them time to respond to his words. "Now then, Akira and I have some business in Yongen, so let's head off for today!"

The dark haired boy looks confused. "I don't have any business."

"Just come with me!" Hisses the cat. "I won't be able to get close enough by myself!"

She laughs a little, the antics reminding her more and more of her friends from Inaba.

* * *

Monday comes, and she walks through the gates of the school, trying to desperately ignore the disgusting smile that Kamoshida wears on his face as he orders students to go to class, greeting a few girls with a warm ' _good morning_ ' as they wave. Class starts without a hitch, fairly quiet compared to Saturday's ruckus, giving her less wiggle room as her phone vibrates with another message.

 _'so i saw kamoshida at the school gate this morning'_ Begins Sakamoto, evidently already annoyed. _'he was just standing there looking at me with this shit eating grin on his face.'_

Takamaki's response is fast. _'Ugh, that's annoying.. He was probably mocking you.'_

 _'honestly, seeing that got me even more fired up about this.'_ She's not surprised. The delinquent-like blond was very much dictated by his emotions, and knowing him for only a few days had taught her that.

 _'Yeah, I'm worried about Shiho, but I want to concentrate on the operation too.'_ Ann was on the ball today, it seemed. _'And I won't let myself get exhausted like last time.'_

Ryuji takes a few moments, though the bubble indicating that he was typing seemed to imply that he was going through and deleting and rewriting everything to get it exactly right. When she sees it, she's surprised at how well he remembered the date.

 _'the board meeting's may 2nd, right? we just gotta take care of him before then.'_

Kurusu is fast to respond, though his reply isn't as short as his last. _'im ready for this'_

 _'same goes for me.'_ She's awe-inspired by how.. ready they all were. Thrust into a life of fighting and danger, and yet it was almost as though they had been preparing their entire lives. They're strong, way stronger than she ever was.

 _'Me too! I'll do my best, so no going in without me, okay?'_

She can almost see the twitching eyebrows. _'yeah, you better let us know if ur going into the palace.'_

Labrys is unused to texting still, but she quickly tries pressing the keys before everyone put their phones away, typing as fast as she can in order to get her message across.

 _'Kamoshida probably looked smug because the police are looking towards the family as the root of the incident.'_

She's not sure if that was confidential information, Sanada-san had split it at a meeting between an unofficial police unit, after all, but it was far from the most illegal thing she's done this week. She's already associating with a genuine criminal, and a delinquent, and is currently helping them be phantom thieves. Heck, even the way she got into this school was a little sketchy at best.

A string of those pictures again from Ryuji, several shocked looking ones. _'arisato, ur kidding!? why tf arent they looking at him?'_

 _'How dare they! And, wait.. how do you know that, Arisato?'_

She presses the keys a little faster as the teacher begins to turn around. _'My guardian's husband is a police officer. He's just as angry that the police have given up on investigating the school so fast.'_

Akira responds fast. _'if the police can't do anything, then we will'_

She can't help but feel surprisingly confident as she reads those words. She's met a few natural leaders before, who can evoke the same sort of emotions just with their words, but she's surprised at how easily he does it. Then again, all of them seemed to be born with an aura that radiates of charm and beckons you in. He really was a leader, through and through.

Morgana had good eyes when picking who to be their boss.

* * *

THIS CHAPTERS A LIL SHORT AND A LIL BORING..  
sorry im not feelin very well and i have cramps from hell atm so..  
its also late and im tired..

anyway! it was more or less just me setting up some more character interactions and dynamics!  
once the kamoshida arc is over, we'll be diverging from the main story to follow the p3 cast, i promise;;  
we just need to get the introductory phase over with;;; im sorry

im really excited to show u guys what i have in stock!  
i have a lil note on my phone filled with all my ideas;;; im excited!

bilbosama- PLEASE LET HER OUT OF THE DUNGEON ATLUS  
shes been in there for like. 7 years... shes had enough,,, let her live

uminight- OH I REALLY LIKE THAT IDEA!  
m hoping that if shes not in the main game shes at least dlc..  
i'd fork out so much money for her.. i'd pay atlus's ridiculous prices...

I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED.. srry its short  
see u in the next one! i hope it wont take as long as this one did!


	7. dark

**_LoOkInG cOoL jOkEr_**

* * *

She feels the familiar distortion call over as they descend into the distortion that Kamoshida's Palace resided in, her eyes press closed until the dizzying feeling disappears. Once it does, she quietly fiddles with the things on her person,checking that her axe was still firmly placed at her back like makeshift wings, and that hidden underneath her clothing was one of the Shadow Operative's radios, something they used on lesser missions that didn't require the help of someone with a Persona dedicated to backup.

..She hadn't told the others about it, of course.

They'd ask too many questions.

"But _daaaamn_..." Her red gaze flickers over to Sakamoto Ryuji, who was keeling over with his hands over his mouth as he observed practically every inch of Takamaki Ann in her thieving outfit, the skintight catsuit she wore obviously drawing his attention.

The blonde girl raises an eyebrow behind her feline-shaped mask. "Hm? What's up?"

"N-Nothing." He stutters out, and Labrys can't help but raise an eyebrow. Only a fool would believe his words. "I was just thinkin' we should choose a code name for you too."

"A code name?"

At those words, the rough boy gestures to each person with every word. "I'm Skull, he's Joker, Arisato's Knight, and that's Mona."

Morgana looks up and down the girl's figure, large cartoonish eyes bulging at her well-endowed figure, only helped made more attractive to the eye thanks to the red, tight clothing she was currently wearing. He diverts his gaze to the 'tail' at her back and the shape of her mask, and puts a paw under his chin.

"Judging by your costume.."

Ryuji seemed to have been doing the same. "I mean, she's got that tail and stuff, so.. Whadda you think, Akira?"

"Catgirl."

The dark haired boy said it so straightforward, so plainly, that Labrys can't help but snort out a snicker. Soon, her muffled chuckling becomes a laugh, and Ann juts out her lower lip in a pout at the two, one smiling slightly and the other bursted into uncontrollable giggles. She waves her gloved hands back and forth repeatedly, obviously distraught by the idea of being called that.

"Don't laugh!" She cries, and the silver-haired girl wipes a fake tear from her eyes, thin shoulders still shaking a little from her snickering. "And, _wait_! Is that what you're going to call me from now on!? I am _**so** _not down with this!"

The blond boy shrugs his shoulders. "What do you want to be called, then?"

"Um, something better than just a little cat.." She frowns in thought, pondering over it for a moment. "Maybe.. 'Panther'? That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Cause it sounds more.." The girl searches for the right word. "..Ferocious?"

The cat clutches his paws over his heart, as though it was throbbing with emotions, his furry cheeks flushed red; something she didn't know was even possible. His smile was wide, and she swears she can see hearts in his eyes.

"She's a cougar..!"

Ann stamps her foot down. "Don't call me that! Anyway, more importantly, Kamoshida..!"

"Oh, right." Skull snorts. "Let's go!"

* * *

They were running around the Palace grounds, after having explanation dumped on Ann about the Shadows roaming around. Earlier outside the walls, Joker had spaced out for a while, something that confused everyone. She wasn't quite sure what it was herself, but based off of her experience with other persons who had the ability to switch Personas, she wondered if she was heading to 'that room'.

She'd met a former resident of it, once.

..She wonders how close that girl is to achieving her goal.

Joker runs forward, knife in hands, and pounces onto the shoulders of an armed soldier, pulling his helmet off and slamming his knife into it's neck, causing it to explode into streams of deep colours as it took the forms of mythical beasts, what Shadows seemed to become inside this world. The battle went by fast, with Panther and their leader easily defeating the Bicorn and Pixie. She and Skull didn't even need to lift their weapons.

They run into a new area, and they bump right into an enemy, nearly ambushed if her instincts hadn't broken in and she'd swung her axe into the monsters frame. Only one Shadow comes out, a Jack'o'Lantern looking creature, who squawked out something she couldn't quite understand.

A new Persona, one Joker referred to as Agathion, rained thunder down on the Shadow, who squealed a little in pain before shaking off the electric shock, using the flaming torch in it's hands to attack the dark haired teen. He growls in pain, and Mona steps in to attack in retaliation, his curved sword slashing up the creature's body, carving into the pumpkin until it exploded in it's death.

She had to admit, this place was crawling with Shadows. Her sensors were going wild, and she can feel the Plume of Dusk both inside herself and the radio by her side pulsating at their surroundings. It was that glowing source, living yet not alive, that allowed her to have a personality, that allowed her to summon a Persona, and it allowed her to continue running inside of this dimension.

It was the same for the radio. It needed those feather-like items to function.

Each hallway was crawling with the foes, no matter what door their opened and what wall they looked behind. She stayed back as the four held up another Shadow, asking for money from it, something she couldn't force herself to do. She was fine with stealing a 'heart', she practically had her own personal vendetta right now, but all the other things weren't exactly something she could get behind.

..To be honest, she just needs to get used to it.

They walk up a glimmering gold and red staircase, wandering into a hallway that's lit aglow with sunlight. In a way, she'd call the sparkle 'ethereal', thanks to it's rays of bright colours and the warmth it exuded. She knew it was fake, but it was still very nice.

They come across a room with jail cell-like bars, clearly a place of importance. Mona and the others discuss a way to get in, and decide that getting Joker to figure out a way was the best thing to do. She had to admit, they were right. Out of them all, he was the most likely to notice something. So she follows along as he runs around the bars, running his hands against the wall until he came across the head of a ram, with a switch hanging from it.

He pulls it, and Shadows surround them.

"It's an ambush!" Screams Mona, and they're attacked.

Knight manages to dodge one of the Shadows' attacks, but Skull falls to the ground in shock as two Bicorns and a Pixie descend upon them first, the ominous glimmer of the other Shadows behind them, prepared to attack once they're given the opening. Panther helps the blond boy up to his feet, and he and Joker summon up rains of lightning onto the two dark equestrian monsters, causing the two to fall to their knees.

The two use their powers of electricity once more, easily destroying the two horse-like Shadows, leaving them only with the fairy and the closely approaching four looming figures, ready to avenge their fellow Shadows if anything happened.

Panther's flames dance as they crush the fairy's wings underneath their burning embers, and the next enemies decide to step in, flame wielding pumpkins like they'd seen earlier. Knight's the first to attack, her axe swinging down onto one and easily flushing out the light. She jumps back as Joker moves to attack first, his machete carving marks into the next enemy, and Mona follows suit with his winds, easily crushing the final two.

She can hear the four sigh with relief, and she can't help but smile. They're still new to this, so of course they're a little tired. With a smug remark from Mona, they pull the next chain, confused when nothing happens. Slowly, they make their way around the cage to the next side, pulling another chain and excitedly laughing when the gates open up.

To their surprise, in the middle was just a map.

"What the hell?" Mutters Skull, his arms crossed against his broad chest. "He had it all locked up and shit, but it was just some old map..?"

Mona shakes his head, sighing. "You're hopeless.. Don't you realise how vital a map is? Having this will give us a better grasp of the topography of the Palace. It's a true necessity for a phantom thief. This should make securing a route much easier."

Panther leans over the boy's shoulder, to get a better look at the map.

"Wait, does it say where the Treasure is on there?"

The human shakes his head side by side, as his feline companion speaks. "Oh.. Actually, it seems like this map is incomplete.. There might be more of them around."

"Mkay, let's start checkin' what we can." The delinquent blond shrugs his shoulders. "We'll prolly find another map along the way."

The silver-haired robot leans forward. "If not, we can always draw up our own."

"Good idea." Joker agrees.

* * *

A Shadow had begged for it's life, something which genuinely terrified her for a moment. In a way, the Shadows inside this place were different from the ones she knew, the ones she was born to fight. The Shadows she had fought were mindless, the enemies of humanity itself, feeding off the minds of weaker humans. Born from the darker and more negative emotions, amplifying the worst of humanity.

They didn't speak, they didn't cry, and they certainly didn't beg.

It reminded her of the worst times of her life.

She's so relieved when Joker spares the monster, allowing it to become a new Persona of his.

They also found a book, one with quite the ominous title of 'Slave Book'. She didn't like how it sounded one bit, but their leader insisted on bringing it along, thinking it might have some importance in the near future. The boy had an eye for important things, something she had to attribute to his smarts. That seemed to be a common reoccurring theme, amongst these types.

An intelligence, whether it was emotional or mental.  
An admirable trait, to say the least.

They pass by a locked door, one in need of a key, and find themselves in another library, this one even mustier than the last. The distinct smell of mould hangs in the air, and the mood lightning provided by hanging chandeliers lights up dust bunnies flickering around them.

For a brief moment, she wonders what the point behind everything being so destroyed and dirty was, considering this was supposed to be Kamoshida's castle. But as she put her mind to it, the realisation strikes her. This place was born of corrupt emotions. It made sense that the further they dug into the place, the shadier and grosser the place became. Just like the man, it shines and glimmered with brightness and beauty on the outside, but it's insides were disgusting.

How fitting.

"Hm.. Wait a second." They all stop as Mona pulls a book out of the shelf. "The books on this shelf seem familiar."

Skull, curiosity taking over, peers over the titles, shocked at what he reads. "These're the names of the volleyball team members! Wait, what the hell!? All of the titles are boys from our school!"

"..' _Sakamoto Ryuji: The Vulgar Ape_ '. There's one here for Skull."

The blond stomps his foot down. "That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is!?"

"Wait, didn't we find a book earlier?" Panther snaps her fingers, and turns towards Joker with sparkling eyes. "What if we.."

He cuts her off. "Let's put it on the shelf."

"Yeah, maybe something will change if we put it on the shelf." The dark haired boy nods his head, and slides the book they found earlier into a free spot. While he was searching for a spot, the others searched around the room for any other clues, and a gasp from Panther draws their attention.

They turn to her, confused.

"This book.. has Shiho's name in the title.." She begins to pull books out and checks each title, eyes widening as she reads the names. "It's not just this one! All of the books here are about female students..!"

Skull pulls one out, reading the title out loud. "..' _Takamaki Ann: The Charming Doll_ '.. Holy shit.."

"What the heck is this!?"

Knight tightens her hands into fists, anger boiling in her chest at some of the titles she read. Some were 'nicer' than others, but a lot were disgusting and rude, for both the boys and the girls. It made her sick, and absolutely furious.

To her surprise, the boy pulled another book out, one titled with 'Queen Book'. He inserted it into the free space amongst the books about the girls, and took a look around the room. She wonders when he found that book, though she had to presume that he found it before she joined them all.

They search around the room once more, and find a shelf filled to the brim with books all about Kamoshida. Every single one, was going on about how incredible he was, how handsome he was, how strong he was, how talented he was.. It was a narcissistic hell. Sure enough, Joker finds another empty slot in the shelf, and he crosses his arms in thought.

Seemingly done pondering about it, he raises a gloved hand, and turns to them all. "Mona, Knight, come with me. Skull, Panther, stay here and search for more info."

The two are briefly confused, but they stay behind and continue digging through the shelves, getting angrier by the second as they read more and more of the disgusting nicknames and titles of books.

* * *

She follows the two along quietly, the whole sneaking around thing coming much easier to a cat and his agile human companion. She found it a little harder, even though she was made of fairly light materials, she was still very much made of metal, and she had to cringe a little every time the steel of her feet clicked against the marble floors.

Knight found herself fascinated by how easily Joker made decisions, practically born into the leadership role they had handed to him. He was calm, rational, and he knew what he was doing. And he wasn't that bad of a guy. So she can't help but wonder, why does he have a record? Why is everyone so afraid of him?

He really wasn't that dangerous, so long as you weren't a Shadow.

As she's thinking that, the two lead her further down the hallway and into another room, making a beeline straight to the bookshelves lining the walls. They dig through books upon books, checking titles until they find what they were looking for. He pulls out another book, showing them the title.

'King Book'.

Ah, she's beginning to piece it together now. There were spaces in the bookshelves in that room, the perfect sizes for those books with odd titles. She had seen at least one more, though she had been too focused on the boiling fury in her chest to actually pick up more information. Mona pockets the book, placing it somewhere she's not quite sure where, and the three leave the room.

They walk back to the room with the others slowly, and finally, the cat speaks up.

"Tell me, Knight.." He begins, and she turns towards the small feline. "How do you have experience with Shadows and Personas?"

Her body freezes, and her cogs begin to whir in thought. Her Papillon Heart was pounding in her chest, it's soft blue glow hidden by the school uniform that continues to clad her figure. She hadn't come up with a backstory for this part. They had her normal life down, she was a distant relative of Kotone-san's, with a younger twin sister who didn't go to school. Her close family was a sore subject, and it was simpler to say that Kotone-san was her true family.

She hadn't come up with anything for Shadows.

And she certainly, certainly couldn't tell the truth.

"I.. uh.." She fiddles with the hem of her skirt in thought, biting her lower lip hard. "..I.. had a run in with them, a long time ago."

The cat doesn't look convinced, but sighs. "Alright then."

Joker's gaze turns from the cat to the robotic girl, his eyes narrowed slightly behind his mask, but he doesn't say a single word. He was a hard one to read, she couldn't tell what he was thinking about her story. She was glad she didn't need to elaborate, though it now left her with a new predicament she'll have to sort out with Mitsuru-san and the others.

As she sighs, they reenter the library, and Skull and Panther greet the three with smiles.

"Yo." Greets the blond boy, raising one of his hands. "How'd it go?"

The dark haired boy throws the book to his friend, who catches it with ease. "Put that one on the circle-jerk shelf."

That wasn't a slang she knew of, and her eyebrow raises. Despite that, Skull seems to know exactly what he's talking about, as he approaches Kamoshida's shelf and quickly slides the book in.

Knight turns to the blonde girl. "..What's a circle-jerk?"

"Don't ask."

She frowns, still unsure of what to think of that new word, and frustrated by the fact nobody would tell her. She doesn't get enough time to begin seriously questioning everyone, as one of the shelves slides backwards and opens up, revealing a secret room. Her skin crawls a little, and they enter the room slowly, shocked at what they all see.

The walls were absolutely covered in pictures of that Suzui girl.  
Combined with the low lightning provided by flames, and the odd candle circle, she wasn't sure what to make of this place.

The blond boy snarls. "Ugh... The hell is this room? There're tons of pictures of pictures of Suzui in here!"

"..It's nothing but pictures of her.." Knight murmurs, disbelieving of what she's seeing.

Some of the photos.. weren't as nice as others. Most were bust-shots, as though they were taken with a camera, but a few were absolutely disgusting, the sort she wished and begged to wipe from her memory. Panther clutches her fists tight together, arms shaking, and Joker looks at her with determined eyes, strength overflowing.

"We'll make him pay for this."

She nods her head slowly, taking a deep breath. "Yeah.. definitely. I feel even more motivated to do this now.."

"I'm sure it'll feel awful, but.." They turn towards Mona, already on top of some of the barrels. "We should search this room. There has to be something in here if he was hiding it with such an elaborate trick."

They all nod, and split up amongst the room, each searching a corner. Her hands run over the walls, eyes examining each photo, despite how sick they make her feel. Her memory was important, and this was evidence, in it's own right. If anything goes wrong here, with the stealing of his heart.. she'll have the memory of these pictures to show that there was abuse committed at the school.

The red-clad girl lifts something up. "..Is this.. a medal?"

At those words, everyone stops their individual searches and heads over to where the girl was, leaning over her shoulders to get a better look at what she had found. In her hands was a circular, golden medal, with a blue ribbon hanging from it. Mona climbs up Joker's shoulders to get a better look, and a smile curves onto his face.

"That size, and that shape.. I think that's our key! Remember that round indentation we saw back near those bars?"

Knight reaches out for the paper underneath the medal. "There's somethin' else here, too.."

Unrolling the paper fully, she finds herself eye to eye with another map, one that was different to the one they found before. It filled up the empty blanks provided by the last, and even showed where the Treasure was hidden. The building it was inside was oddly shaped, leading them all to believe that it must've been inside of a tower.

With new information in their hands, they leave the creepy room to return to the hallway they came from.

They opened the once locked door, and made their way down a brand new hall, one that took the appearance of a chapel. They observe the area at first, seeing how much further they have to go, but are quickly stopped by the distinct distortion filling the air, tell-tale signs of a safe room.

They find their safety, and immediately Skull and Panther flop down on chairs, sighing loudly as their muscles ache and burn. She sits down too, letting herself relax for a few moments as Mona and Joker discuss their next option, until they all ultimately decide to leave for the day.

Everyone was tired, if not physically, then certainly mentally.

* * *

sobs into my fucking microphone

short chapter again;;; am sorry  
no excuse this time im just a lazy ass ho

the long waits are probably rlly annoying, lol.. sorry  
we're getting closer to wrapping up the kamoshida arc, tho!  
im trying not too take too long with it but  
my writing style and the way the game is kind of.. forces my hands..

haah,,,, sob

uminight- mom squad. it consists of mitsuru, shinji and kotone.  
they sit there and force u to eat ur veggies and drink plenty of water.  
 _mom kotone_ is so good,, sobs into my hands,,,

aduan- thank you for your kind review! i wont make too many comments  
for spoilers sake, but im extremely happy you're enjoying kotone and akihiko,  
and kotone as a character in general!  
im always afraid some people dont like my portrayal of her,  
so it always brightens my day to hear kind words about it!

im also very excited to bring in the shadow operatives/phantom thieves interactions!  
while we wont get them until i finish this arc, i do have some thing planned out, and i hope you all enjoy them!

and yes, i feel the exact same way about dancing moon night!  
im excited for a new p3 game, but im also extremely scared for my children..  
atlus.. pls dont flanderize them..

ANYWAY sORRY FOR THE LONG NOTES!  
i hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! i'll see u in the next one!


	8. forward

i started writing this an got tired.. gomennasorry

* * *

Labrys's been counting the days until their expulsion with worry. They had about ten days left, and she's been filled with anxiety for each and every one of them. She'd lie and say it was because of her duty with the Shadow Operatives, but in truth, it was more or less because she liked school. She liked the group she'd found herself hanging around with, for their weirdness and all, and she liked learning.

She thrived in it's environment, and she'd hate to let scum like Kamoshida take it away from her and those boys.  
Plus, she had an agenda. She wanted to punish him, for what he did to that Suzui girl.

This was the way to do it.

They exit the safe room they found inside the annex of the Palace's east building, following Joker down hallways filled with red and black carpeting and wallpaper, all blending together in one blur. The only thing that reminds her that she's not wandering through a strange portal is the occasional golden trimming, or the pillars of marble that reach for the rooftops in elegant arches.

They open the doors to what appears to be chapel, and the second Mona peers in, he stops the four.

"Hold on, Joker!" They all stop at the sudden voice, the silence between them having been all they knew since they entered the grounds, and turn towards the black and white cat. "This place is huge.. yet there are no guards? That seems suspicious.."

Skull leans back on one of his legs, hands in his deep pockets. "But the Treasure's up ahead, right? We don't got a choice but to keep goin'."

"I guess that's true.."

It was obvious that Mona was still worried, his blue eyes narrowing together in thought as he looked out into the large room they were about to enter. She had to feel a little bad for the little guy, he seemed like he was kinda stressing out with them all. Even if most of it was his own fault, fighting with Skull and all, she definitely wasn't helping- being an enigma and all.

Mind made, she leans down, silvery bangs flickering over her helmet-like visor as she gives a smile. "It's okay. We're prepared for anythin' to happen."

"Knight's right."

They all turn to him with surprise, shocked at the amount of strength he shows with only his voice. His fist clenches tight together, his eyebrows knit with true determination. They all can't help but smile a little, and with those words from their rather fearless leader, they all run out to the middle of the chapel, though they immediately come to a stop when they feel a disturbance in the air. They look around, and everything distorts for a brief moment, roses and stained glass becoming the white walls of the school gymnasium. The patterned marble floors beneath them become wood, and the door they came through clearly leads to the outside world, not to another room.

Panther looks around, rather shcocked. "Wait, was that.. the gym?"

They look down the aisle, and standing in the very middle was a large, vibrantly pink statue of Kamoshida Suguru, donning his crown and cape. His arms are spread out wide, head tilted back in laughter, his features slightly exaggerated, though she can't tell if that's because of the distance or because of the colourful lighting pouring in from behind.

"Oh, I get it.." The leather-wearing boy begins, catching attention. "The gym's some kinda holy place for him. He's a god there."

That's despicable, disgusting, and absolutely deplorable. The more that they dig into the deepest parts of this man's mindset, the angrier she gets, and the more she wants to punish him for everything he's ever done. All the abuse, the bullying, the life-destroying.. He doesn't deserve to be seen as such an incredible figure. He's a narcissistic pig who nearly destroyed a girl's life, and she'll never forgive him for that.

They walk up the red carpet, and the blonde girl bites her lip. "I can't believe he can think like that.. especially after what he did to Shiho.."

"Everybody has somethin' they don't want to show off.. a side to themselves they keep hidden." The mechanic maiden murmurs, voice low and almost to herself. "But.. this? This is absolutely disgusting."

Joker slowly nods his head, and Skull kicks one of the seats. "God, that bastard makes me so freakin' sick! Just you wait, Kamoshida..!"

The air is thick, like a miasma fills it with poisonous gas. She doubts that's actually what it was, else it wouldn't be affecting her. No, rather, the way she was feeling, the way they were all feeling, was absolute fury. That powerful pressure filling the atmosphere was their emotions, a wish for vengeance towards a disgusting human being.

As her fists clench, a voice fills the air.

"I see.." They all stop staring up at the statue, and begin looking around, trying to find the source. The mysterious voice doesn't seem to come from anywhere, rather, it reverberates around the room like a powerful echo. "So you're the ones who tampered with the library. It seems my time waiting here has paid off.."

The ground in front of the statue shifts and moves, and rising from it like a zombie is a golden-clad soldier, sword in one hand and shield in the other. His gaudy appearance, combined with the overall snooty tone to his voice, makes her believe he must be a bigwig, perhaps a captain of some kind.

"Just as that ape there said, this place is a holy ground for our great King Kamoshida." The more the slaves and servants talk about him, the more he sounds like a god in their eyes. Perhaps he saw himself as something similar, like some sort of heavenly king? It was ridiculous, nonetheless. "It is preposterous for miscreants like yourselves to come waltzing in like this."

Like a powerful earthquake, the ground rumbles below them and the Shadow explodes, his form reshaping into that of a thin and tall soldier with bright red wings, his armour becoming far less bulky and more suited for war, with chain mail covering his chest.

Gesturing forward with his sword, he growls at them. "You will pay for foolishly defying King Kamoshida.. with your lives!"

* * *

The monster's body glows with power, a clear sign that it was charging up to strike down upon them with as much damage and strength as it possibly can. Mona mentions another battle tactic to the newbies, one she blanks out of to instead prepare herself for the strike. Panther's whip slashes at the monster's ankles and shins, and Joker's machete dices open dark skin. Their attacks were nothing if not in sync, as though it were a ballroom dance of attacks, all perhaps not causing the most damage, but doing enough so in such a rhythmical sequence that it more than made up for the lack of power.

Mona tags off to Skull, who rips his mask off with burning blue, his pirate-like Persona Captain Kidd striking down with the power of storms that rage over the seven seas. The Shadow screeches in response, despite not taking much damage, and perhaps to take it's revenge, it slashes it's sword down onto the blond teen, who curses under his breath as the blade dices his skin up.

Her systems fire up, and she moves into action. "Ariadne!"

The daughter of a mythical king, her silvery hair flowing by her back, appears from the shattering glass of ethereal light, her string of fate weaving around the summoner's body like a sign. The Persona's long string made of yarn, her weapon of sorts, hardens like the steel of her body, and slams into the side of the Shadow, sending it flying back multiple feet; an act that clearly angers it.

The cat is quick to move, summoning his top-heavy Zorro to heal the blond of his wounds, earning a small and rather sheepish apology as the battle rages on, the blade of the long sword being dodged one slash after the other. If she had to compare the Shadow's attacking style to anyone, she'd actually say it rather resembled Iori-san, who attacked with powerful strikes and swung his sword like it was a baseball bat.

The only difference was, thankfully, Iori-san could heal himself.  
This Shadow could not.

And that made it's dealings of powerful attacks quite the weakness.

It prepares itself for another powerful hit, and as though they'd learnt their lesson the last time, Joker and Skull slide into guarding positions, a little clumsy on their footwork as one nearly trips over his feet. In comparison, the two with healing capabilities, Panther and Mona, began to attack with their vast reserves of magic. Even if at the moment, they mightn't have been all too powerful, they still had the potential to become deady magic-users.

Her flames dance amongst the gusts of wind that the cat creates, amplifying their power by just a little bit- oxygen to the fire. They burn feathers off and ruffle clothes, slicing fabric open, and the monster deals it's damage once more, only confirming her idea that it was taking revenge by striking down the foreign-looking girl.

"Panther!" Calls Skull, running his way over to the girl, who hisses out how she's fine. He turns a glare onto the Shadow, and summons his Persona. "Get wrecked!"

Instead of using the power of the heavens, the Persona rams it's ship-like body into the Shadow, hitting a large pillar with the sheer power that comes from the attack. The Shadow shakes it's head, trying to brush off the dizziness it felt from such a sudden move, and tries to attack Joker, who gracefully dodges without even a scratch.

Zorro waves his rapier a little, and heals the injured girl, who thanks the cat with a sweet smile, earning a blush from Mona, who's clearly happy to hear the praise from his beloved. Said beloved takes her newly healed body and dashes forward, her whip wrapping around the Shadow's sword and holding it in place.

She struggles against it, and yells at them all. "Hurry up and take it down!"

They attack in a flurry, the blade of her axe slamming into the creature's upper stomach area, where it's lungs would be if it could breath. Their leader jumps from the wall down onto it's shoulders, his knife cutting thin, yet extremely precise marks into the monster's neck. And the rowdiest of their bunch slams his crowbar into it's back, crippling the monster to the ground, where it shrivels up and begins to slink into it's liquid-like state.

They take a moment to let it sink in, and Knight can't help but jump up excitedly, turning sparkling red eyes back to the blonde girl.

"Panther! That was amazin'! You were the hero of tha' battle!"

The girl's cheeks flush, and she looks away. "Y-You think so?"

"I know so!"

The humans, and cat, pant and heave, adrenaline leaving their bodies as they finally realise that it's all over and they don't need to be so tense anymore, deciding to catch their breathes. Shoulders raise up and down slowly, they lean against the benches provided in the chapel for only a few brief moments, before even more armoured Shadows make their appearance.

They click their tongues- now it was obvious that Kamoshida was making a genuine effort to get rid of them.

Unable to just give up now, they avoid anymore battles for the meanwhile, too tired to be able to handle any ambushes, and dodge enemy attacks to make their way back to the safe room, so they can catch their breathes and get ready to find a way to the Treasure.

* * *

They jump and scale up walls, dodging more attacks by angry guards as they're called 'rats' and 'thieves', words that have long become strange to her ears. She's just.. heard them so much, that they've become to sound like fake words. And for once, she's actually quite grateful for her metal body. Her jumps were always accurate, her movements calculated as can be, and she didn't tire like the rest. Perhaps in situations like this, surrounded by enemies and forced to fight, her body was the best weapon there could be.

But in a normal life, the life she wanted, it didn't work.

Because she was strange. She wasn't normal.  
Her existence? Didn't exist, according to records.

The girl she was right now, 'Arisato Labrys' was a fake baring her name and face.  
And she hates how she has to lie about it.

They run up a spiralling staircase, leading them up to a rooftop. The sky was blood red, and lit up by a ginormous full moon; and it sends her sensors wild. There was even a tall, spiralling tower standing in front of her. At first, she doesn't understand why, she's been under plenty of moons that have looked just the same, but it strikes her when she realises her situation.

What this was, right now? It resembled an event that began over fifteen years ago.  
An event she never got to witness with her own eyes, as it had been defeated six years ago.

The Dark Hour.

"Hey, take a look at that!"

Skull gestures up to a large tower, and Mona climbs Joker's shoulders to check the map. "Oh! That matches up with the map. There's no doubt that's the tower we're headed for."

"So the Treasure's up there!" Panther smiles big and wide, excited to finally get this done.

And evidently, so was everyone else, who all follow her smile with their own grins. Perhaps their excitement was premature, too early for them all to be sure about it all, but they all couldn't help it. They were so close to attaining their goal, revenge on a disgusting man who deserved everything he had coming and more.

"Hell yeah, we did it!" The blond fistpumps the air, but soon finds a predicament. "..So.. where's the entrance?"

The silver haired robot searches the rooftop for a moment, and points all the way over to the other side, where a door was sitting in the open. Her face forms a scowl behind her visor, and she narrows her eyes a little as she lowers her arm.

"All the way over there..?" He asks.

Her response is simple. "I don't like the look of it."

As if to answer her feelings, the rooftop becomes swarmed with guards, all angry and fully intent on killing them if they got their hands on the group. They all slide behind a nearby wall, bodies squished together so not a single one is seen, and peer out the corner, sweat beading up at the napes of their necks. They shouldn't be surprised that security is so tight up here, but it was still a pain in the ass.

Joker takes a few brief moments, completely silent, and analyses their options.

Finally, when he figures something out, he turns back to them all with a smirk. "Just follow my lead."

As he says those words, he speeds forward and hides behind one of the walls of wooden boxes, and they all quickly follow, some not as fast or as nimble as their leader. They press themselves close to the floor, hiding their bodies from view as the dark-haired teen looks out again, counting his breathes and matching up footsteps like a rhythm as he moved forward again, sneaking to the next wall.

They follow him along without any complaints, biting down on tongues and cheeks as fear arises every time a Shadow came an inch too close, but they trust the man with their lives. They do exactly as he does, sliding their feet quick against the floors as they move from one outcrop to the next, until they find themselves at the one closest to the door.

By this point, he obviously becomes frustrated.

There's no more places to hide, no more things to sneak around. Only an open field run to the doorway, and at least ten guards marching around with murder in their darkened eyes. He searches and searches, becoming increasingly more panicked, until he spots something, and he grins wide.

"Follow me!"

He makes a break for it, setting off alarms, and instead of heading right to the door, which stood in front of them, he climbs up a wall and onto a nearby rooftop, jumping across gaps as though he were a kangaroo, or as free as a bird. They follow along, but they yell and scream at him for answers.

Skull is the loudest. "What the hell are we climbin' for!?"

"The door was right there!" Panther agrees, though she continues to follow their leader.

And he turns his head back while running, his smile almost ridiculously bright, and a slight laugh on his voice. "Because this is more phantom thief-like!"

The two blondes scowl, and Mona agrees vehemently as Knight begins to laugh loudly, unable to hold back her surprise anymore. She really wasn't expecting that; it broke every idea she had for the boy in her mind. She supposes that'll teach her for judging based off of a few interactions. Though, being honest, she liked this one far more than the one she'd come up with in her mind.

Rather than a cool, calm, and simple guy; she thinks this fun, eccentric, and flamboyant Joker is far more interesting.

He leads them to another staircase, one as spiralling as the next, and the lights continue to redden as the security level raises. They were in trouble, in serious danger, but she honestly couldn't care less. This was fun, this was interesting, and their leader was taking them right inside the tower.

He shoves a steel door open, and they're shocked by what they see.

Everything takes on a purple hue, floors sliding around

"Wh-What's going on!?" The leather-clad girl asks.

Mona answers, his blue eyes narrowed. "The distortion is getting stronger.. The Treasure has got to be nearby!"

* * *

this chapter is so painfully short and boring im so sorry..  
i'll try to get this arc wrapped up somewhere around the 10 chapter mark  
i havent been able to write for this fic at all recently  
it's just..

my mental health is so fucking shoddy atm  
like.. forreal..  
self esteem? mental health?  
sorry idk those people

anyway ignore my stupid ass  
reviews!

bilbosama- FORREAL THO... i despise how they portrayed the p3 cast in spinoffs,  
but especially how they did akihiko the dirty.. so when i was coming up with this fic,  
i basically went 'the events happen.. but those characterisations arent real. fuck u atlus'

other guest- uwuaua ur too sweet! im glad u think that way;;  
it really warms my weak lil heart

ANYWAY IM SORRY FOR RANTING EARLIER..  
i hope u all enjoyed this chapter!  
i'll see u in the next one!


	9. found

hahah... my suicidal ass been putting this off..

* * *

The small group of teenagers find themselves going up and down elevators inside the tower, their final destination on their path to reach Kamoshida's Treasure. It was a dizzying tango of ups and downs, from Shadows ambushing them at every corner to an odd dead end with a rather detailed portrait of their target at the very end. As it turns out, the large framed painting was less of a vanity project and more of a secret passage, leading them directly back into the entrance hallway; giving them an escape route if they ever needed it.

They had gotten lucky, perhaps it was all the attention they were drawing in the tower, but the hall was empty of guards. It was a little suspicious, but it gave them enough wiggle room to get to another safe room and relax for a little bit before heading back.

Going back up the elevator, trying to divert their gazes from the vulgar shaped pillars, they make their way back into a room with shifting floors, a distinctly violent shade of purple tinging the air around them as they made their way through room to room. The distortion was so thick around here, like a heavy miasma, that Knight could barely see.

Each ambush was worse than the last, like the very air around them was against them as it blinded their vision properly to the sights of enemy Shadows. She finds herself taking a hit for Mona, sliding her axe in front of her body as she guards the small cat from the lance of a rider on horseback. She's thanked only momentarily before the black feline jumps over her and slashes into the Shadow's body with his sword, sending the Shadow far enough back to slam right into Joker, who uses his knife to gouge the monster's throat out.

The battle's were getting more and more tiring, the threat level rising higher and higher with every step, yet they refuse to give in and return home to the real world for even a moment, ascending staircases to the next area in a desperation to find the Treasure and set Kamoshida in his place once and for all. The stubbornness they all exuded would probably get them killed, and she can hear Mitsuru-san scolding her in the back of her mind, but she gladly follows along with their bullheadedness.

In the end, Mona forces them all to stop, to return home out of fear for their safety. Everyone is quick to argue, Skull and Panther in particular are the loudest arguers at the judgement, pointing out how close they are to their goal and how little left they actually had. Joker is a little quieter with his words, but it's evident that he agree with the two.

Knight keeps quiet at first as the three argue with their smallest companion, instead she chooses to look over their frames, taking note of every injury and the fatigue that filled their bones. She decides to side with the feline, arguing how they can't do anything if they all end up collapsing from exhaustion. They bite back words and their own thoughts, and ultimately end up giving in; knowing full well that no matter how much they hated this choice, it was still the best one to make.

* * *

A quaint coffee shop is the location that Sanada Akihiko is currently headed to, one that's tucked away in the alleyways of _Yongen-jaya_ , not too far away from where he currently lived. The afternoon sky above Tokyo was beginning to dull, turning from splashes of orange and red to deep violet, marking the beginning of streetlights turning on and the city's nightlife awakening.

He pushes the door open slowly, the bell overhead ringing loud enough to draw the attention of the shop's manager behind the counter, and the single customer that sits inside a booth.

"Sanada," Calls out the older gentleman from his spot, a mug of cold coffee by his hand as the younger of the two makes his way over, sliding into the seat across from the dark haired man. "It's rare to see you doing work like this for that organisation."

"Good to see you again too, Officer Kurosawa." Despite the slight sarcasm on his tongue, he means every word that he says. The man had been a role model to him during his schooling days, working at the local police box inside the mall. He had close ties to their group, having provided them with weapons at the cost of money, understanding full well that there was something else wrong going on in the world.

In a way, Akihiko had seen the policeman as a sort of substitute father figure. Or rather, more of an older male role model. He didn't have one of those growing up, and the only other person he ever looked up to was Shinji, who was only a month older. Kurosawa had helped the two out in tight spots during their youth, from returning a stolen gift back to the shop to returning a temperamental and moody Shinji back to the orphanage after he started acting out.

Overall, he was a good man.  
Trustworthy.

Over the two years after SEES disbanded, Mitsuru had gotten the man a promotion to detective thanks to his help, and now Kurosawa tended to help out with their group whenever he was needed. The older gentleman had certain _connections_ , and they planned to use that to their full advantage during their investigations. Kamoshida Suguru was a shifty man, despite his squeaky clean image on the outside, and the Principal Kobayakawa was no exception. He didn't need to spend much time around the latter to know that; the obtuse man had skeletons in his closet, and was desperate to keep them there.

"I'm only making an observation, but you kids never call me up unless you need a favour." The man laughs lightly, tapping his finger against the porcelain of his mug. "So then? What do you need me to look into?"

He lowers his voice, grey eyes turning to the manager behind the bar for a few brief moments, fiddling with a rag and polish. This was a nice establishment, no denying that, but it was also situated in an alleyway– right in the middle of Tokyo. Just like Kurosawa had connections, anyone else could have them too. Perhaps this was something he picked up from Shinji, who had always seemed to be looking out for a dagger to plunge into his back.

"..Dig into the underground, look for the most corrupt, vile people you can find. Anything is useful, names, locations they frequent.. Literally anything you can find out might be useful." Admittedly, part of that was just them wanting to collect as much as they possibly could– compared to those kids that Labrys was currently accompanying, they had to figure these things out all themselves.

Kurosawa hums thoughtfully, soaking up the information with every word. His eyes narrow as he searches for his very first leads, people who could give him more knowledge for a price; knowledge he could chase up on and dig further into. Names and faces, conversations he's had, he thinks about it all with pinpoint accuracy to what he needs in the now.

Pushing back slightly greying-black hair, he sighs. "I'll start looking around."

"It's appreciated."

The two stand from the booth, the elder heading to pay for his single coffee while the younger begins to wander towards the door, the swing of jazz music almost blurring together with the drawling news playing on a television behind the counter. From what he could make out, it seemed to be about the very series of events that started this entire thing, the Apathy Syndrome-esque mental shutdowns that people were having all around Tokyo.

The older returns, and Akihiko pulls the door open, the air warming with the coming of summer hitting his cheeks. The sky above, having been painted hues of red and orange only half an hour earlier was now sprawling with purplish tones. The changing of seasons, and day turning to night, always reminded him of his youth, whether it was spent in a club room boxing until he couldn't move his muscles, or if he was spending a brief moment of peace with his friends before they threw themselves into battles that could kill them one day.

It's almost laughable– only six to seven years ago, he would've been just like those kids that he's trying to stop from endangering themselves. Which might be why he knows full well that they can't stop them, not without them resisting and fighting back. In fact, they might even be worse than SEES had been; The Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad consisted almost entirely of orphans or those estranged from their families, but they had all _(mostly, if he didn't count Shinji)_ been good at school and got along fairly well with authority and schoolmates.

Comparing that to what Labrys had said, how these kids were ostracised and the rebellious sort..

There was simply no way they'd bow their heads to a group of adults telling them to stop sticking their nose in.

The door swings open once more, and Kurosawa makes his way out with hands tucked into his pockets, murmuring something about the prices under his breath before turning a somewhat friendlier gaze to the younger man– rather than a superior and his junior, it was more like a father and son.

"When I find something out, I'll let you know." A hand reaches up and ruffles short silver locks, a snicker leaving the older's lips. "Take care of yourself, and if you find out something you shouldn't know and are in over your head, make sure you don't rush in all by yourself."

The two part, walking in separate directions towards their cars and respective homes, but with a quick swivel on his heels Kurosawa turns around and calls out to Akihiko once more, a smile wide on his face as he gives a small wave with his hands.

"Oh, and– I want an invite to that wedding."

* * *

With only nine days left, her anxiety has been left to boil over. She trusted Joker, she really did, but good lord did he enjoy putting things off to the last minute. They weren't like this at all in the Shadow Operatives, everything in that group had been done precisely, and with as little time spent as possible. Perhaps it was a skill that came with being veterans; efficiency came first to a group who knew what could happen when things weren't done quick enough, who had lost lives because they had spent too much time on something like this.

Comparing that group to the Phantom Thieves, teenagers barely few weeks into their new powers, felt a little harsh.

Focusing her eyes on what's ahead of her would perhaps be better in this situation– a thought she has as her body instinctively moves out of the way of the sharp horn of a horse-like Shadow, using her axe to crush it's skull underneath the weight of her steel strength. Wiping the goop of it's remains off of her beloved weapon, she follows Joker along as he climbs a set of stairs with the other three members of the party, sliding the door open and sneaking through like mice.

Skull stops in front of a statue of Kamoshida, his lecherous grin carved into stone only causing anger to pile up in the blond's bones.

"Ugh, seein' this face pisses me off every goddamn time.."

"This statue..." Mona leans forward a little closer, using his comically large eyes to observe. "No, it might be dangerous to tamper with it."

Knight shrugs. "Then let's jus' keep goin' for now."

Nodding his head sagely, their leader slowly heads towards the bridge beside the stone bust, stopping right as a blade comes swinging down from the heavens, almost slicing the teen in twain. For once, she sees genuine fear on his face, as dark eyes widen and sweat gathers at his temples. A few steps back are taken, and Panther quivers a little as her own gaze turns to the numerous scythes swinging across.

"That was close!" She gasps. "What is this?!"

The smallest member pipes up. "It's a classic security measure. My tail might be in danger if we try to force our way through.."

"Oh yeah, same for Panther's." Knight slams a firm hand on the square of the leather-suited teen, who groans in response to the unnatural strength. "So.. what do we do? No way we're gettin' through this."

Letting a red hand twirl strands of silvery blue, the robotic girl turns her piercing gaze back to the statue for just a few moments, her curiosity piqued. Reaching out to the man's grin, she grabs his lower jaw in her hands and pulls it up and down, listening to the familiar sound of joints as it moves. While there was no reaction, it still was capable of moving, which meant they needed some sort of key..

Joker suggests an enemy might have the key, by far the most likely scenario there is, but that meant going through thousands upon thousands of Shadows to find one key. In the end, they decide to find one of the high-ranking Shadows to defeat; the idea of one of them holding onto the key being far more reasonable than one of many lowly foot soldiers easier to swallow.

They run and run and run around, searching for a room or a place where a far stronger Shadow would be, the sort they were looking for, but so far they weren't having any luck. The only thing she found useful about the constant encounters they had with weaker Shadows was that the other four were able to strengthen up a little– truthfully, she found no need to actually summon Ariadne unless they were in tight spaces, because simply because it was easier to pretend like she was _somewhat_ normal without her Persona being ridiculously powerful.

Not only that, but she learned while watching them. She had little-to-no understanding of how Palaces worked, and these teenagers had a knack at finding things out. In a way, she was closer to being on their level simply because she had no experience with this place.

They soon find the Shadow they're looking for, a war-hungry general atop a horse that growls down at them while begging for their blood to be spilled. It's during this fight that she steps in, mostly using Ariadne as to buff the others' attacks while she swung her axe against the horse's legs, letting the other's deal the final blows to the actual monster itself.

"H-Hey, that Shadow did have something.. But what the hell is this..?"

Skull is the first to reach through the leftover mass of black ichor, pulling out a small round orb that looks right at him.

"An eye?"

Knight looks at the squishy orb with mild and somewhat macabre curiosity, gaze going from the iris and pupils themselves to the deep black blood vessels that are left over. The blond boy is clearly uncomfortable with how much of the eye's owner is left over, but all she can think about is her time in the laboratory, in a long gone past.

Back then, they wouldn't call anything that came from the other Suppression Weapons (her sisters, she remembers every single one) by names that might let them think like humans. They didn't have 'eyes', they had 'optical receptors'. They didn't have hearts, they had Plumes of Dusk– shaped in the form of a butterfly, which was why they were called 'Papillon Hearts'. And they certainly, certainly didn't have souls.

Seeing the eye all on it's own simply reminded her of how the scientists would tell her to not leave a single bit of her sisters remaining, whether it was her eye or her soul.

"Knight?" Her thoughts are broken by Joker's deep voice. "You alright? You zoned out there for a second."

Mona puffed out his chest. "You completely missed me cracking the code to this mystery! We need another eye for the statue."

"I'm okay." A small smile forms on her lips. "Aren't you smart? We'll have to find that other Shadow, then."

Although she vowed to forget the past and look upon the future, with friends by her side, she couldn't help but reminisce once so very often.

* * *

They had quickly found and dispatched of the second Shadow they needed, having figured out a fairly good strategy after taking down the first of it's kind, and they collected the eye. It hadn't taken very long thanks to Joker, who had easily pin-pointed which Shadow was the real one they needed when three supposedly high-ranking ones were lurking about.

Slowly, but rather surely, he places the eyes inside Kamoshida's ugly mug, and with a ominous yellow glow, the scythes stopped their swinging, allowing the Phantom Thieves to pass. They scuttled up the staircase and into a new room, where they spend quite a bit of time trying to find the stairs. They only find a place where the stairs should be, and a booming voice calling out to them confirms their fears.

"You are gravely mistaken if you think stairs will appear for you whenever you like."

A golden-clad Shadow appears from below, standing in front of them all with an oppressive stance, weapon at the ready. It was clear what it was here for, if the Treasure was nearby, this was the last stance at keeping it safe. Which meant that this one had to be extremely powerful.. Yet Joker stood face forward, confident in their win as he interrupts the monologuing Shadow with a quick slice of his knife.

The second his attack connected, the Shadow's true form appeared, a grotesque and extremely perverted form suiting that of the final guard before Kamoshida himself. Between her and Panther's disgust, the boys are the first ones to get attacks in, giving the two of them time to adjust to the sight of such a.. gross creature before them.

It almost looked like it had pulsing roots or veins, the contrast between the glowing red and black at the base of it's form the only thing keeping her from staring directly at it while she swung her axe, backing off for a few moments while Panther's whip curled around it to keep it in place, their perfect chance for an All-Out Attack. They pile on, though the last one to get an attack in is Skull, whose anger towards Kamoshida might have fuelled that last hit.

The stairs form in front of their feet, and they all make their way up to what surely must be the final leg of their journey.

Finally, as the reforming staircase comes to it's end, they find themselves at the throne room, their goal and the location of the treasure they were looking for. There was no way in through the large set of double-doors, but quick thinking on their leader's end lead them to climbing up and in through a gap in the walls. Shushing up an excited Skull, they all turned their gazes to the actual room below them, where a group of Shadows stood around a single red throne.

And on top of that was a very familiar man.

"Oh shit, it's Kamoshida..!"

Knight scoffs. "No duh.."

"And a ton of soldiers.." Panther bites her lip in worry.

The Shadow Kamoshida was filled with frustration, it was evident by his every movement. His arms waved around, desperately giving out commands, and his voice boomed with every ounce of anger that he had. His large, meaty fists slammed down on the sides of his chair, causing a resounding thud that obviously frightened the soldiers that he commanded.

" _ **How**_ have you not captured the intruders yet!?"

The one closest to him shrieks a little. "I-I apologise, my liege!"

Mona's eyes narrow a little, and he began to tug on the sleeves of their leader. "I bet he'd never imagine we're in the same room as him.. We need to keep moving."

They sneak across the top level of the throne room, finding themselves sneaking into the final destination and opening up the doors to a room filled to the very brim with glittering golds and jewels.

"Whoa, what is this place!?" Skulls turns on his heel with his good leg, his awe almost sending him flying. "Holy shit! That Treasure thing's gotta be in here!"

They all spend a few small moments collecting themselves and taking in their surroundings, the display of wealth and a truly obnoxious amount of self-love being a little too much to take in all at once. In the end, they all focus on the same thing, a large orb-like .. _thing_ .. floating in the middle of the room.

"Hey, what is this?"

Knight can't help but be entranced. "It's.. kinda pretty."

Rubbing his paws together, the black cat jumped on top of a large goblet to get a closer look, his eyes practically sparkling at their discovery. At first, his excitement isn't understood, simply because none of them have any idea as to what it is he's practically salivating over– but with a small chuckle and a toothy grin, Mona explains his glee.

"That's the Treasure. We finally found it!"

Joker raises an eyebrow. "..That cloudy thing?"

"Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you all more once we made it this far." The stuffed animal-esque cat crosses his arms. "Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialise before we can steal it."

Skull leans closer in. "Whaddya mean..?"

"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once their conscious that their desires might be _stolen_ , the Treasure will finally show itself."

".. Okay.." The robotic girl isn't exactly sure of this.

Panther seems to be on the same page, though a little more open. "But how do we do that?"

"We warn them. Tell them, 'We're going to steal your heart'." Pride fills his voice, and Skull seems to understand it completely, snapping his fingers in unison with the wild grin that forms on his face.

"So we're gonna send a calling card!?" His blond locks bounce a little with his joy. "That's **_totally_ **what a phantom thief would do!"

Mona's pride was only swelling more, and his ears were twitching with every little word that left his mouth. "Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain! ..I think!"

Although the truthful uncertainty that escaped his words made everyone a little worried, it wasn't hard to admit that it was their best and only shot. And with their infiltration route secure, and their knowledge of the castle rivalling that of the Shadows' themselves, all they really needed to do was pump out a calling card in reality and to come back to retrieve their prize.

"Let's do this."

* * *

GOSH im a bad author for putting this off for..  
like five months..

let me start out by apologising to anyone who reads this story!  
the quality of this chapter may not be up to par with other chapters before or even after this one,  
and that highly has to do with my own mental health.

during september i turned 16, and it finally was a real wake up slap to me,  
giving me a realisation to some problems of mine i had been putting off.

i have been diagnosed with pretty severe depression and anxiety,  
as well as being on the autism spectrum and having a mild case of agoraphobia.  
as of such, i constantly school avoided and have most likely been held back for year 10,  
instead of going on to year 11 like i planned.

this, combined with my lack of real talent or passion, and my inability to get a job,  
caused me to become terrified of the future ahead of me.  
just a few days ago i had a severe mental breakdown and spent two days crying.

and while perhaps the environment i live in and grew up in is to blame for causing this,  
ultimately it is my fault for being weak and unable to help myself.

i turn 17 this year on the 28th of september.  
i hope that by that time, i'll be a better person.

anyway, sorry for rambling!  
i'll try to update this fic more often!  
im genuinely curious now, btw,  
do you all prefer kurusu akira (manga) or amamiya ren (anime)  
for the p5 protagonist's name?

i like both, personally, but i'll be doing a quick poll to see what everyone prefers  
i might change his name in this fic to better suit what atlus chose...

anyway, i hope to see you all sooner than last time!  
be safe, and keep healthy!


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